Orphaned
by solomonara
Summary: bad, bad things are happening on earth. Goku's dead, and Gohan, the last of the Son line, is kidnapped! His friends will try to rescue him, but someone doesn't want them to...
1. Orphaned

Orphaned; Chapter 1

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Disclaimer- I do not own DragonBallZ, DragonBallGT, or DragonBall. Thank you, have a nice day: )

Note:Ah, I know I haven't finished 'Breakdown' yet, but I've hit a sort of block. I've also been working on this fic at school, because the only file of 'Breakdown' that I have is on my computer. So I started writing a new one. Don't worry, though! Breakdown will be finished! I am working on them both… biggest mistake of my life… 

Warnings- I have severely distorted reality in this one (when do I ever not?) and I've got little kids acting like geniuses. I mean I've got four-year-olds acting way mature. But bear with me, here. Oh yes, possible tissue warning if you're sensitive about death…

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It was dark- much to dark for his liking. It had been pleasant, but now it was time to go. The baby's world was suddenly filled with bright light and sound. He opened his eyes slowly, afraid of this new world and what creatures might inhabit it. A watery image swam before the child and came into focus. Men and women stood looking down on him, all wearing white, their mouths covered with surgical masks. 

"Congratulations," The doctor holding him said, "it's a boy."The boy was handed over to a tall man wearing orange who smiled down at him.

"Chichi, honey, look. We have a son." Chichi smiled wearily up at Goku.

"Son Gohan. After your Grandfather." She said, breathing heavily. Goku nodded. "Let me hold him." Goku gave Gohan to Chichi, who looked fondly upon him before closing her eyes. "Take him, Goku." She gasped.

"Are you all right?" Goku asked as he took Gohan back.

"Sir? I need to speak to you."The head doctor took Goku aside. "Your wife is very weak and has lost a lot of blood. We're going to take her into surgery, but…" He trailed off.

"Don't worry. Chichi is strong. She can make it through anything." Goku replied confidently. The doctor nodded and nurses wheeled the new mother out of the room. Goku took Gohan to the nursery to wait. 

Half an hour later, the doctor returned.

"I'm sorry." Was all he said. Goku nodded, picked up Gohan, and took off, his heart in shock. Only when he arrived back home did the full force of what had happened hit him. His wife was gone, never coming back. Never again to smile at him as he came into the kitchen with a huge fish in his arms, never again to laugh with him or cry. He placed Gohan in the crib that had been prepared for him. What was he to do? 'Until death do you part.' the preacher had said. What was that supposed to mean? He was parted from his intended life-long mate. It was too much to bear this emotion rushing through him; he had to let it out somehow. An aura flickered and steadily grew as Goku's body tried to handle this new stress. Within seconds, Goku had passed his maximum. His hair flickered gold for an instant before the power faded away and he dropped to the floor, lifeless. His spiritual heart had already broken from the ache of losing its soul mate, and his physical heart gave up trying to handle the pressure of such enormous power in an untrained body. The infant Gohan wide-eyed at this display of power that, unbeknownst to him, would effect his life from this day forward.

Miles and miles away, Goku's arch-nemesis felt the flux and fade in a familiar ki signature. Piccolo's curiosity pulled him toward that place and he found himself standing at Goku's open front door. The scene that met his eyes stirred a mix of emotions within him; his long-time rival dead at his feet, but not because of him, and what could only be Goku's son staring through the bars of the crib, seemingly deciding whether to cry or not. Piccolo decided that he was not happy at all at the death of his opponent. To avenge his father, Piccolo had wanted to be the one to kill Goku. It was his life. What kept him going. What kept him training. Now what? His eyes drifted to the baby. Goku had killed Piccolo's father, so Piccolo would kill Goku's son. He picked up the now crying child by the front of his shirt, ready to kill the last Son in one fell swoop. Fortunately for Gohan (or perhaps, fortunately for Piccolo, cause Gohan was _really_ crying now.) Piccolo's sense of honor kicked in. What was he doing, killing a defenseless child with no power to speak of? Better to let the child live, and then, if he did discover his true heritage or power, he could be disposed of easily. Piccolo looked at the headboard of the crib where Gohan's name was carved.

"Son Gohan." He said thoughtfully. "You are very lucky to have caught me on a good day." Gohan just looked at Piccolo and gurgled happily. 

Four years later, a haggard looking woman looked over her spectacles at the small boy in front of her. He had a head full of black hair that never went one direction, though the caretakers of the four-five division of the orphanage were constantly trying to brush it out. It was morning and the head caretaker of the division had brought the boy here. The woman looked through her files. There had always been something strange about this boy. He was more mature than other children his age and sometimes displayed a higher mentality than the others. He had been brought here when he was no more than a few hours old by a very strange character indeed. He had been tall and green with pointy ears and a dangerous manner about him. He had told her only what was necessary- the boy's name and what had happened to his parents. So here he was in her office, not for the first time, accused of causing a disturbance after all the others had gone to sleep. The woman massaged the bridge of her nose.

"Gohan, would you care to tell explain why you woke up all of the other children in your division?" She asked, already guessing at the reply.

"Sorry, Miss Marx, but I didn't mean too. I had a bad dream." This ending sentence was so lame Gohan could have kicked himself. But it was true. Miss Marx pushed her glasses up.

"Another one? That is the third time this week. Perhaps you should talk to somebody," Miss Marx suggested.

"I talk to my friends," He answered, though he knew this wasn't what she meant.

"I mean a professional. Someone who can listen to and interpret your dreams and even be your friend."

"I'm not seeing a shrink." Gohan stated flatly. The director sighed, pursed her lips, and took another look at the boy's file.

"You are dismissed." She said. When he was well out of the room, she perused the file once more just to be sure she hadn't misunderstood. The report from the director of the 4-5 division stated quite clearly that the other children had seen Gohan _glowing._ And the director had confirmed it! Of all the nonsense… Miss Marx pushed a button on her intercom. "Sally? I need to speak with Anne of the 4-5 division."

"Ok Miss Marx." Replied the secretary. A few minutes later, a nervous redheaded woman walked in.

"Anne, I've just read your report on the boy in your division. Son Gohan?"

"Oh yes. The one with recurring nightmares." Anne glanced apprehensively at her employer's paper-covered desk.

"You said he was glowing."

"Um, that. Right. Well, all the children saw it."

"You said he was glowing."

"Yes. I saw it for myself."

"Anne, have you ever heard of a flashlight?"

"Well, yes, Miss Marx, but the boy was sleeping. And when he woke up with that yell, the glow was gone."

"He was glowing." Miss Marx shook her head in disbelief. "Fine, you can go." Anne left. "Perhaps she aught to see a psychiatrist as well." Thought Miss Marx, going back to her papers.

The Z gang had lost touch with each other over the years. This prompted Master Roshi to organize a small get together for all of his old friends. They had all been so out of touch that no one knew anything that was going on with anybody anymore, except, perhaps Bulma and Yamcha, who had just reconciled after another fight. Master Roshi called Krillin, Bulma, Yamcha, and Goku just to be sure that they could all come. Everyone said yes in a heartbeat. Everyone, that is, except Goku.

At the Son house, a sudden shrill ring pierced the four-year silence shrouding it. Birds took flight form their nests in the rafters to escape the rare, unwelcome noise, rousing some of the thick coat of dust that now lay on the once clean furniture. They passed through the door that had rusted so that it stayed ajar. Dark shadows passed over the small mound of dirt that served as Son Goku's grave. Piccolo had provided an honorable burial for his most honorable opponent. 

Master Roshi hung up the phone. 'Oh well,' he thought. 'Krillin can go and get Goku when he gets here.' If only he knew.

Well, that's it. Kind of sad, but tell me what you thought. Till next time, toodles!

~mysticGohan33~


	2. Orphaned Chapter 2

Orphaned- Chapter 2

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Disclaimer: I do not own DB/Z /GT, and though you may have a right to sue me, I ask that you do not ^_^

Note: Here it is- the second chapter. I gave the orphanage Gohan's at a little name- I totally made it up off the top of my head, so any coincidences are purely… coincidental.^.^I hope I didn't take too long on this one.

*****

Gohan was in a small room furnished in Late Asylum. Everything about the room screamed 'psycho' instead of'psychiatrist'. There was a large bookcase against one wall with books on all manner of mind disease and control. An assortment of pendants hung on the wall behind a large desk- gold to silver, ruby to sapphire, all glinting spookily in the dim light. The desk was very neat and tidy with an assortment of paperweights on top of a perfectly symmetrical stack of papers. Sitting behind the desk was a high-backed chair; the kind you would expect to find in an evil villain's lair. To the right of that hung a few diplomas. Gohan read them. They were all from universities he'd never heard of. Behind the huge couch he was sitting on was a large picture that he supposed was meant to be calming, but was really quite the opposite. It was abstract with swirls of green, brown, orange, and red all intermingling with each other until their separate identities were lost. It reminded Gohan of a horrible forest fire. There was a paneled door on wither side of the room, built to blend in with the walls so that only the tarnished brass knob was visible. One of the doors opened and a somewhat tall man with graying black hair entered leading a girl Gohan recognized from his dormitory. She had tears rolling down her cheeks though she tried to hide them. Gohan decided that he didn't like this man. The psychiatrist ushered the girl from the room and through the other door, then turned to his next patient.

"Hello, my name is Mr. Chute. I am going to help you with your problem. I think we can be friends." The man said. Gohan just looked at him coldly. He was not going to co-operate with anyone who made little girls cry. "You can start by telling me your name,"

"Or, you could just look through your papers and find it," Gohan replied. Mr. Chute forced a smile and looked down at a sheet of paper in his hand- the statement of Gohan's history starting when he came to St. Ivy's Orphanage. Mr. Chute's eyebrows went up.

"Ok, then, Son Gohan, it says here that you have had recurring nightmares. Would you like to tell me about them?" Gohan considered for a moment. Seeing that the boy was not about to answer, the psychiatrist tried a new angle. "The sooner we begin, the sooner you leave." That got Gohan going. He began reliving the detail of his dream.

He was running through a dark, seemingly endless tunnel. Though in reality it lasted only a few seconds, Gohan felt like he had been running all of his short life. At the end of the tunnel, there was a bright golden light and a man standing in the middle of it with blonde hair and blue eyes. The light seemed to be emanating from him. The man reached out to Gohan just as another force came and stole the boy away. Here Gohan always woke, sometimes with a shout because the dream was so tormenting.

Mr. Chute took note of all of this with eager interest. Gohan looked at him expectantly. Even if he didn't like the man, if Mr. Chute could interpret this dream the visit wouldn't be a total waste. Mr. Chute smiled at him sympathetically. Gohan quickly recoiled and banished all thoughts of this psychiatrist being anything other than a nuisance. Something about that pitying smile made the boy want to punch him so hard his teeth would fall out. But he didn't; he wanted to find out about the dream.

"This is a classic case." Gohan clenched his teeth. Mr. Chute's smug tone was a hint at bad news to come. "The 'tunnel' represents you searching for something, and when you find it at the end, you can't have it." 

"That's it?" Gohan asked. He could've figured that out on his own! He hoped Miss Marx didn't make him come again. 

"No, that's not it. There is a symbolic meaning for who you find at the end of the tunnel. You described him looking something like a god. I believe that this man is your father." At this, Gohan looked up. He had been wondering ever since he had begun to comprehend what an orphan was who his parents were. However, children were not allowed to enquire about their families until a certain age, and indeed, no normal child really cared at an age of four. "Now, I am allowed to bend the rules in certain instances." The psychiatrist went on, seeing he had Gohan's attention. "I can tell you as much as is known on the subject of your parents and why you are here, but only if you want to hear it." Gohan thought on this. Perhaps this guy wasn't so bad. A touch arrogant, yeah, but he wasn't treating Gohan like a four-year-old like most people did.

'Then again,' Gohan reminded himself silently, 'I _am_ a four-year-old.' He spoke up now. "Yes, I'd like to know." Mr. Chute looked back down at his papers and said, 

"Your mother's name was Chichi. She died in the hospital during surgery just after you were born. We don't know how your father, Son Goku, died. You were brought here by someone whom we are assuming was a family friend." Mr. Chute stopped there. This truly was a case he would like to know more about; a newborn child (complete with a tail) brought here by a strange green man wearing a turban. Very interesting. He leaned closer to Gohan and spoke in a whisper. "Now technically, I am not supposed to do this, but I can bend the rules again. Would you like to know more about your family?" Gohan nodded slowly. "Good. I will call you back here sometime and we can find out together. For know, go back to your dormitory." Gohan stood to leave. "Oh, and Gohan?"

"Yes?"

"Never tell anyone about our sessions. This sort of thing should be kept… well…private."

"Ok, sure." Gohan left. It was much brighter in the hallway. He thought again on the girl whom he had seen come out of the other room with Mr. Chute and wondered why she had been crying. Mr. Chute seemed nice enough…

****

Krillin arrived at Kame Island first. Yamcha came shortly afterward with Bulma.Master Roshi came out to greet them. 

"Hey Master Roshi! What's up?" Bulma said.

"Same old, same old. Say, have any of you heard from Goku?" Everyone shook their heads. No one had spoken to him in a long time. "Well, someone's going to have to go get him. He wasn't answering his phone and I know he'd want to be here."

"Hey, I'll go!" Krillin volunteered. "I can't wait to see Goku again!" 

"All right, just hurry up. Let's get this party started!" Exclaimed Yamcha. Krillin smiled and took off for his old friends home.

****

Far away, something sped through the sky. To the farmer watching it, it looked like a meteorite. It landed a few miles away, creating a huge crater. The farmer jumped into his truck, rifle handy, and sped off to check it out.

At the site, the object opened. It was small, round, and not a meteorite at all. It was an alien space pod- occupied by one very dangerous alien. A tall, wild looking man floated up and out of the crater. He had enormous black hair that reached below his back and he wore strange armor with over-accentuated shoulder pads. The farmer was beside himself in fear.

"Whoever you are, I warn you; I'm armed!" He exclaimed, brandishing his rifle with as much courage as he could muster. The result was laughable, especially to the powerful being in front of him. 

"I?" The man grinned horribly. "I am Radditz, the most powerful being on this miserable planet. Not that it will matter much to you in Hell." Radditz put his hand out vertically. In his panic, the farmer pulled the trigger. Multiple bullets flew at Radditz only to bounce harmlessly off of his armor. Radditz grinned wider and the farmer finally came to his senses and bolted. Two paces later he was dust. "See ya there." He said to the ash. He looked around him. The land was flourishing. The planet didn't look conquered at all!

"Kakarot!" Radditz yelled, as if expecting him to appear right then. The warrior enveloped himself in his aura and took off to find the one responsible for this… life. He turned on his scouter as he flew. Low life readings all around. This planet should have been easy to purge, even for a weakling like his little brother. But wait a second- _there_ was a higher reading! It was slightly less than it should have been, but Kakarot had always been less strong than was normal. Radditz altered his direction toward the reading.

****

Piccolo trained alone in the mountains. That is to say, he always trained alone, but usually in a desert region. He felt Radditz's power approaching swiftly and abruptly halted his meditation to meet this arrival. The power was dark; no one he knew. And it was huge. Who was it?

****

Radditz raced through the air at top speed and it wasn't long before he reached Piccolo's mountain. He stopped suddenly, dissipating the aura around him, and descended slowly. When he landed, Piccolo met him eye-to-eye. 

"Who are you?" Radditz asked, surveying the Namekian. This was definitely not Kakarot. 

"Who wants to know?" Piccolo challenged.

"Someone you don't want for an enemy."

"Ok then, _friend_, what do you want?" Piccolo asked, sensing now more than ever the evil in this individual.

"I am looking for someone called Kakarot. Then I am going to cleanse the planet of pitiful beings like you." Radditz replied casually. Piccolo narrowed his eyes.

"Well I don't know anybody named Kakarot. You must have the wrong planet, so why don't you go ahead and crawl back under whatever rock you came from and leave me alone." It happened too fast for even Piccolo's battle-trained eyes to follow. Suddenly Radditz was right on top of Piccolo with his fist in the Namek's stomach. Radditz backed away and Piccolo dropped to his knees gasping for breath. 

"Perhaps that will refresh your memory. My brother, though I am ashamed to call him that after this botched job, is probably the strongest person you have ever met. He was sent here for the same purpose as I, for he is of the almighty race of Saiyan." Unfortunately, this did stir something in Piccolo's memory. The strongest person he had ever met? Goku, of course. And wasn't Goku's origin always slightly disputed? He knew that Goku had had a grandfather, but parents? Piccolo made it his business to know his enemies thoroughly- it made their weaknesses apparent. He had always known Goku was different, but alien? It was a possibility. 

"Sorry, but your Kakarot is dead." He stated plainly. Radditz frowned and creased his eyebrows.

"Impossible," He said mostly to himself. "He should have destroyed all life at the first full moon!" His tail lashed freely behind him and Piccolo was assured that Goku and Radditz were of the same race. He also knew what tails did.

"Well, for one thing, he had his tail permanently removed when he was a child." A look of horror crossed Radditz perplexed countenance. "And he protected Earth with his life." Radditz's horror turned slowly to shock, then swiftly to anger.

"Then I'll clean up after him," He growled. "Starting with you!" Radditz charged Piccolo who phased behind him and landed a solid punch to his back. Radditz barely stumbled, but turned to face Piccolo with a high kick. Piccolo caught Radditz's foot and attempted to throw the Saiyan into the air, but Radditz gained control before he was more than a few yards away. Panicking, Piccolo threw a flurry of ki blasts after his opponent. When the dust cleared Radditz was still there. 

"Don't you understand?" Radditz floated down. "I am unbeatable."

"I'll take that bet," Piccolo said. "Give me one day. You will be beaten." Radditz just grinned.

"You are lucky I am a Saiyan. Any other adversary would have killed you, but I enjoy a challenge. Have your day, but I'll be there when the time is up." Piccolo took off without a second thought. Radditz flew away in the opposite direction. That strange green man would never beat him. He might as well begin the purging. 

Ok, I got it out ^_^ I'm so happy! I'm working under rather adverse conditions here- no heat!!! BRR!!! I am cold! But my day will be considerably warmed with a nice comment or two in my inbox- so review, or else! Or else what? Erm… I'll sic a rabid turkey on you. ^_^ with that pleasant thought, I bid you farewell and a Merry Thanksgiving. Toodles!!

~mysticGohan33~


	3. Orphaned Chapter 3

Orphaned- Chapter 3

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Disclaimer- I don't own DBZ or DBGT or DB. I'm sorry, do I look like Akira Toriyama to you???????

Note- Third Chappy. And About Time Too! Ah, a bit of a warning here- I've got four- and five-year-olds acting like 20-year-olds. Stretch your imagination! You can do it!

Last Time- Piccolo told Radditz to give him one day and he'd be ready. Roshi sent Krillin to get Goku. Gohan saw a psychiatrist. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, see the previous part ^.^

*****

Gohan was curios. Curios by nature and inquisitive by prompt. He couldn't stop his brain from wondering about Mr. Chute and that girl. She was from his division and a year older than he. What was her name again? Christina? Yes, that was it. He remembered because she always told everybody to call her Chris and only the adults called her by her full name. She had nearly clobbered him with a plastic shovel when he called her Christina. This was the kind of girl who liked to believe that she was tougher than everybody else, and her pride would keep her from ever crying in front of a fellow child. If she broke down in front of an adult, it would have to be for something serious, because crying in front of an adult was about ten times worse than crying in front of a kid. His curiosity was driving him crazy; he had to know. Gohan went around to the back of the building where there was a small playground area and looked for Chris. She was playing in the sandbox with some of her friends so he walked over.

"Hey Chris," He said and she looked up.

"What?" She was sizing him up; looking him over to see if this was someone she knew or someone looking for trouble. When she recognized him as someone from her division, her hard stare softened, but just a little. She reminded Gohan a lot of a wolf.

"I need to talk to you about…" He hesitated, not sure how to continue.

"Well, spit it out!" She said impatiently, eager to get back to her sandcastles. 

"It's about Mr. Chute," Gohan blurted. Chris's stare hardened again.

"Hey guys, I'll be right back." Chris told her friends. They nodded and went back to playing knights in shining armor. Chris led Gohan to a deserted area on the playground. "Ok kid, what do you want?"

"Kid? I'm only a year younger than you!"

"Whatever. You wanted to talk about the doctor?"

"Yeah. It's… He's…" Gohan couldn't find the right words.

"It's stupid, he's evil." Chris filled in.

"What?"

"Trust me, I know. I started going to him when I was your age."

"Stop it, you're making me feel like a baby," Gohan interrupted.

"Don't interrupt. And you are naïve enough to be one anyway." Gohan shut his mouth. "Anyway, he seemed like a nice enough guy, but then he said he wanted to help me find out about my parents. It was painful, and not just mentally. This guy isn't interested in helping us, Gohan. He just wants to satisfy his own curiosity. I don't know if you'd noticed, but those diplomas on his wall aren't from any universities I've ever heard of. I even looked them up. Nothing. He isn't licensed and he uses…unorthodox… methods to get what he wants." Chris rolled up on of her sleeves and showed Gohan a rash on her upper arm. 

"What's that?" Gohan asked.

"Mr. Chute gave me an injection when I started having dreams. Whatever was in that needle wasn't safe, and probably wasn't legal, either." Gohan reached out to touch it but Chris pulled away. "Don't," She said, rolling down the sleeve. "It hurts like Hell and I don't know if it's contagious."

"Mr. Chute said he was going to help me find out about my parents and dreams," Gohan said, nervously. Chris raised her eyebrows.

"Watch your back." She stalked away back to the sandbox.

*****

Later that day, Mr. Chute called Gohan back into his office. He took Gohan to the other room and sat him down in a small chair that was across from another high-backed chair, identical to the one in the first office. 

"Now Gohan," Mr. Chute began. "Are you ready to find out more about your past?" Gohan nodded cautiously. Mr. Chute smiled and drew out a long gold chain attached to a crystal clear jewel of some sort. 

"What's that for?" Gohan asked.

"Today we will be doing regression-hypnosis therapy. You're a smart boy; can you tell me what that means?"

"You're gonna hypnotize me to remember what happened when I was a baby." Gohan said. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Yes. In order for this to work, I must have your total trust. Do you trust me?" Mr. Chute looked Gohan straight in the eye. Gohan swallowed and blinked. No, he didn't trust Mr. Chute at all. Maybe he had nothing to worry about then. If the hypnosis wouldn't work because of Gohan's lack of trust, it might be all right. Maybe. Mr. Chute leaned back in his seat. "Well? Do you trust me? Be honest." He pushed. 'Be honest?' Gohan thought. Well, ok…

"No." He stated plainly. Mr. Chute blinked. Well, at least he was honest. 

"Ok. Well, I think we can try this anyway." Mr. Chute said, determined to push on. Gohan saw what Chris had been talking about now.

"But you said-``

"I lied. Now focus on the crystal." The therapist dangled in front of the boy's eyes. It _was_ an interesting sort of crystal. The light reflected of the facets in such away that it touched Gohan's eyes. He began to feel slightly drowsy. Sunlight filtered through a window in dusty beams, adding to the relaxed atmosphere, and Gohan closed his eyes. Mr. Chute smiled. "That's it. Now. You are felling tired. Very relaxed." Gohan opened one eye.

"No I'm not." He had just remembered that he didn't trust this guy. The psychiatrist groaned.

"Come on now, you almost had it!" He said. "Let's try again."

"No, let's not." Gohan said, standing. "I'm gonna go now, if that's all right with you." 

"No! We are going to figure this out!" Exclaimed Mr. Chute, also rising.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that I want to anymore." Gohan reached for the doorknob, but Mr. Chute stopped him and spun him around to face him. Taking a firm hold on Gohan's shoulders, he knelt so he was eye-level with his patient. 

"Think about it! You could put an end to the dreams." Gohan looked at Mr. Chute. The psychiatrist no longer seemed remotely friendly. He had a strange look in his eye that Gohan didn't like at all.

"Mr. Chute, I don't want to," Gohan moved out of his grasp. 

"No, no, no, you do!" The man's voice sounded desperate and hoarse now. "Yes, yes, you just don't understand how your mind works. Of course you don't! You're seeing a psychiatrist!" Mr. Chute seemed to be talking to himself now. His eyes kept darting around the room. Gohan went for the door again. "Oh no you don't!" Mr. Chute grabbed him and more or less threw him back into the chair. Gohan was truly frightened now and his four-year-old instincts began to kick in. He struggled to blink away the tears forming as Mr. Chute rummaged through a bag and pulled out a needle with a clear liquid in it. "This will help, yes, yes, yes. I _will_ know your story." He was muttering completely to himself now as he approached the boy. He was right on top of Gohan now and the frightened child did the only thing he could; he screamed. Though he knew somehow that no one would hear, he screamed as loud as possible. There was something in him that seemed to be clawing its way out, and it was Gohan's logic that if he didn't let it out, it would completely tear him up.

Suddenly, Mr. Chute found himself embedded in the far wall. Gohan jumped out of the chair and ran for the door, which fell down as he approached it. In an instant he was in his dormitory. He didn't even remember running down the halls to get there. He didn't remember the frightened stares of adults and children alike as a small boy blew past them, apparently on fire. He didn't remember anything except that he was extremely tired. He collapsed on his bed into a deep sleep.

*****

Krillin landed in front of the Son house. The feeling of dread that had set upon him was now sinking in. Maybe he was just paranoid, but the house seemed to have a foreboding cloud hovering around it, and Krillin couldn't sense Goku's ki anywhere. He peered inside. Strange, the door looked like it hadn't been used in a few years. Krillin doubted Goku simply came down the chimney all the time; something was definitely wrong here. It took no effort to force the door all the way open, and Krillin stepped inside. There was dust everywhere.

"Goku?" No answer. "Chichi?" Nothing. They were obviously not home. 'And haven't been for a long time,' He thought uneasily. He found his way to Gohan's would-be nursery and did a double take. Crib, toys… Goku had a kid?!? Then where were they now? Krillin stretched out his senses as far as he possibly could but there was still no trace of his friend's ki. 'Wait a sec…' He dashed around the house. There had to be a calendar somewhere. 'Oh, here we go,' He thought, coming up on one. The days were neatly marked off until around the middle of the month. The only thing wrong was that the calendar was four years behind. How very unlike Chichi…

*****

Radditz flew almost lazily through the cloud-scattered sky. There was nothing to destroy, nothing to do. He incinerated a bush or creature now and again just to keep from falling asleep while he few, but he wanted something to destroy that would at least take a little effort, or possibly something that would cower in fear for a while. Eventually, Radditz came upon a small town. It wasn't much; a few houses and a couple of stores. 

"Pitiful," He scoffed and landed directly in the middle of a somewhat busy street. Cars halted as people stuck their heads out of windows to see what was going on. It was amazing how fast people could sense danger, but how slow they were to react.

"Hey buddy, get outta the way!"

"Yeah, MOVE!" Two impatient motorists got out of their vehicles and advanced on Radditz, who faced the, smiled, and then… *_poof*_ there were none. The outflow of the Saiyan's attack completely cleared the street. Cars were either thrown to the sidewalks or disintegrated. Panic ensued. Radditz was having fun. Soon nothing salvageable was left in the entire area and he moved on. This was the way planet purging should be done, not the Prince's way. Individually terrorizing each civilization was much more entertaining than simply wiping out the entire planet's population with a single blast. However, Radditz's way took to long. Ah, no matter. He had a fight to look forward to, but until then, this next city looked large enough to occupy him for a bit. He checked the sun. Only a few hours had passed since that foolish Namek had made his threat. Radditz continued toward the city. 

*****

Gohan woke with a start on his bed. He didn't remember falling asleep, but that wasn't on his mind right now. There was a knot in his stomach and a buzzing in his head that felt slightly familiar, though he couldn't recall ever being sick in his life. On top of this, he also felt an inexplicable, unshakeable feeling of impending doom. How very odd indeed…

Ok, done. God, this took forever, but I finally found the time to type it!!! So how did you like? REVIEW!! Thank you, have a nice day… toodles!

~mysticGohan33~ 


	4. Orphaned Chapter 4

Orphaned- Chapter 4

Disclaimer- I don't own Dragon Ball, DBZ, or DBGT, as is quite apparent by my pathetic lack of knowledge…

Note- FINALLY! This certainly took long enough. It wasn't enough that I should actually lose the fic itself, but I had to go on another 'Computers are evil, technology sucks' fit. I hate those… but here we are now! On to the story!

Recap- Last time, Gohan met Chris and blew up (literally) at Mr. Chute. Krillin discovered that Goku and Chichi hadn't been home for a few years, and had had a child, and Radditz is going around destroying towns.

*****

The Namekian Piccolo flew through the air at top speeds. Radditz's power frightened him very much, though he wouldn't admit it to himself. He knew he'd need as much help as he could get, but the problem was exactly that- how much help _would _he get? Piccolo planned on asking Goku's old friends. It wouldn't be a huge advantage, but something was better than nothing. He could feel their powers a great distance apart. If his sense of direction was right, Krillin was near Goku's home and Yamcha was on that island with Goku's old master. Smiling grimly, he wondered how they had taken the death of their friend. Oh good, Krillin was moving toward Yamcha. He could get them both at once. Piccolo altered his direction for Kame Island. 

*****

Krillin flew slowly through the air, confused. He landed softly on the sand of Kame Island and Yamcha came out to greet him. He looked around, then gave Krillin a questioning look. Krillin walked past him and into the house. Yamcha followed, perplexed.

"Hey guys," He greeted them.

"Hey Krillin, welcome back!" Bulma said. She looked behind him. Only Yamcha was there. She looked at Krillin's face. Uh-oh. "Where's Goku?" Krillin shook his head.

"I don't know."

"Whaddya mean, you don't know? You went to his house, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah, but he wasn't there. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I think something's up."

"You bet something's up! Look!" Yamcha pointed out the window and into the sky. 

"What? I don't see anything," Bulma said, coming over to the window, but Krillin and Master Roshi both looked worried. 

"That's Piccolo," Master Roshi said. Bulma was clueless as everyone else rushed out past her. She shrugged and followed.

Outside, Master Roshi, Yamcha, and Krillin all seemed to be watching something far away. Before Bulma could voice her annoyance at being left out however, Piccolo became visible. In a few seconds he had landed on the isle. Bulma screamed and dashed into the house for cover while the remaining fighters backed up a few steps and fell into defensive stances. Piccolo smirked, knowing that he could probably take them all on. But that wasn't what he was here for.

"Relax, I'm not here to fight," He said. No on e dropped their stance. He grinned broadly, making sure to show all of his fangs. "But if you really want to, I'm sure I could beat you around a bit before I go on my way." 

"What do you want? Goku's not here." Yamcha said, gathering his courage. Piccolo narrowed his eyes.

"Of course he's not here." He said. Didn't these fools know? Obviously not. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but he's dead." He watched in mild amusement as Krillin's, Master Roshi's, and Yamcha's jaws all dropped five feet.

"What do you mean?!" Krillin shouted, first to recover. "What did you do to him?!" 

"Me? Listen, as much as I wish it, I was not the one who finished him off. But that is also not why I'm here. A new, evil force has appeared on Earth and I can't fight it alone."

"Now wait a second," Yamcha said. "That's a whole lot you're asking us to believe. I mean, I think one of us would have known if Goku was dead." 

"Well then I guess you'd better reconsider your friendship with him, then meet me on the battlefield. If you don't come to your senses by the end of today, Earth is through. Your choice." With this, Piccolo took off again. Everyone let out an audible sigh. 

"So now what?" Krillin asked. "Do we trust him?"

"No." Yamcha replied. "We can sense ki, right? If anything big happens, we'll know." Krillin nodded half-heartedly. He still couldn't shake his feeling of foreboding. 

*****

Gohan decided to find Chris again. He needed to talk to her because he couldn't remember anything that had happened in the psychiatrist's office and suspected that Mr. Chute had done something to him to make him forget. As he rounded a corner, an interesting sight met his eyes. The door to Mr. Chute's office was gone and paramedics were loading the unconscious shrink onto a stretcher. That was odd. What happened to him? Gohan would've asked someone, but decided he didn't really care what happened to his therapist. He continued outside.

*****

Radditz landed in the outskirts of the city. Not much was here. A sign that read;

_~Ivy City~_

_~Population; 21,000~_

And a few houses and stores. No one was outside. Radditz could see the busy city and hear the street traffic from here. That was his goal, not this sleepy outer edge. 

'Poor fools,' He thought, deciding on a terrorizing strategy. He'd spread the fear slowly, then watch it take effect. But first… Radditz flew back into the air and charged a small ki blast. 'That town wasn't worth my time,' He thought as he watched the explosion with a satisfied expression.

*****

Deep under the earth, hidden in a subterranean cavern, a small orange sphere reflected the light of an oncoming explosion. The blast came quickly, and the four-star dragonball met its end. Above ground, Radditz had no idea how complicated he'd just made things.

*****

Piccolo was flying slower now. He still had a few hours until sundown, and then he would meet Radditz. Truthfully, he had no idea of what was going to happen. If those idiots didn't show up, how was he supposed to handle Radditz on his own? 'Death is but the next great adventure,' A little voice told him. Piccolo shook his head. "I'm not going to die," He assured it, and continued along.

*****

"Chris," Gohan approached the girl who had abandoned the sand and was now swinging on a nearby swing-set. 

"Gohan," She acknowledged, nearly kicking him as she swung forward. Gohan stepped back. 

"Well, you were right about Mr. Chute." 

"Of course I was," Chris replied, jumping off the swing and landing perfectly a few feet away. "Hey, what's going on over there?" She had spotted Mr. Chute's ambulance speeding off.

"They're taking Mr. Chute to the hospital. I'm not sure what happened, but you should see his office! It looks like a tornado hit it." Chris's eyes widened. 

"Well don't just stand there! Let's go find out!" Chris darted into the building. Gohan followed, smiling slightly. Chris wasn't nearly so hostile once you were friends with her. 

*****

Radditz walked directly down the center of the busy street. His mere presence seemed to be causing terror and mayhem- a fact that pleased the Saiyan very much. Just to heighten this effect, Radditz incinerated a few cars, sending people scurrying away faster than ever. In the panic, fires erupted and cars crashed. Citizens screamed at one another as though this was their fault. Radditz just laughed. How silly the human race was! Not only were they a source of entertainment, but they were also doing half his job for him! 

*****

Miss Marx peered over her glasses at the small boy in front of her. Son Gohan. Again. She looked to the girl next to him. Christina Maud. Again. Surprisingly enough, however, Miss Marx had called neither to her office this time. 

"What can I do for you?" She asked.

"What happened to Mr. Chute?!" Chris exclaimed.

"Oh that's right, you two were seeing him. I guess it's all right to let you know then," She replied, relieved that she didn't have to deal with more reports of fighting and disruption in the dormitories. "It seems there was a freak phenomena of nature in Mr. Chute's office. He was hurt pretty badly, but don't worry, he'll be back as soon as his bones heal."

"Peachy." Chris said, unenthused. "Just peachy."

"Well, if that's all you need, then- Whoa!" The floor had suddenly begun shaking violently, knocking Miss Marx and the two children off their feet. Miss Marx got up and ran to the window, tailed closely by Chris and Gohan. What they saw almost made them scream.

*****

Yeah right, some cliffhanger, huh? You all know or have pretty good guesses as to what they saw. And if not, well, wait for the next chapter, which, I regret to say, is going to take a tad longer. I haven't even gotten it out on paper yet, and since school is out, I have no time to work on it… Did that make any sense? Well, in any case, until next time, toodles ^.^

~mysticGohan33~


	5. Orphaned Chapter 5

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Orphaned- Chapter 5

Disclaimer- I don't own 'em.

Note- This is gonna be a long one. First, I would like to apologize for how long it's been taking me to get these out. Second, I would like to thank everyone who has stuck with me, even though I'm so slow. Third, I wanna apologize for blowing up a dragon ball so unceremoniously. First off, I said the dragon ball was the four star, I believe, unless I took that part out. Well, in any case, that's not possible, 'cuz Goku had the four star. My next point brings me to questions some peeps have had.

To Mars- Yes, Gohan has his tail. I don't remember if I mentioned it, but it will definitely come into play later. Also, thank you for your question regarding Piccolo and Kami. I truly meant to put something in there, but I totally forgot! Urgh, its driving me nuts now. Oh yeah, the question was 'how would they react if a dragon ball was destroyed'. Well, I think they'd definitely feel a paranormal tug, or something, at least Kami would. But it shouldn't affect their health too much, but maybe… Urgh, who am I kidding? I dunno where I'm going with this. Please, bear with me. It will come together.

To Guess- 'Are the Dragon Balls indestructible?' Are they indeed… Well, I think not, because of the one episode with Krillin Gohan and Vegeta on Namek, right when the Ginyu force found them. Vegeta yelled at Krillin to destroy the dragon ball he was holding. Well, I don't know how much Vegeta knows about dragon balls, but as Dende said 'Nothing lasts forever, not even the Dragon Balls' or something to that extent. Oh, my spell check is going nuts… OK, to wrap this up, I couldn't have Goku and Chi-chi getting wished back now; it would ruin the plot line slightly. Did I say wrap it up? Oh we're not done yet, not by a long shot.

_OK, so now why doesn't Kami just make new Dragon Balls_… well, if anyone asks me that question, they should know I will not answer. That comes later. But trust me, even though I'm a bit of a schitzo, I know what I'm doing, kinda.

_OK, that's all very well and good, but I'm still finding it hard to believe that_ _Krillin and Yamcha and them didn't even realize Goku was dead. I mean, come on! The_ _guy was their best friend!_ Truthfully, they would have noticed. Yeah, OK, they should have. I admit. There are a million different little things that should have happened. Goku shouldn't have been able to take Gohan home right away; there are hospital rules about that kinda stuff. Chichi shouldn't have died! What about Goten! Oooooo, I did a bad thing… but Goten doesn't seem destined to live in this time line.

_All right, whatever, how about Namek's dragon balls?_ Ah, no one knows about them yet. And if I have my way, no one will. But, as my sister says, 'The idea decided to become a story with out consulting me first.' So, I'm a bit ill prepared, and am trying to keep up. OK, so I hope I answered any questions anybody might have had, and if I sound irritated, I'm not. I'm just trying to answer questions before they pop up. You know the saying. 'Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.' Well, I hope you enjoyed my little discourse- now, on to the story! (Finally)

Oop, wait, not through yet. First- a recap of the unimportant events in the last part. Radditz blew up a dragon ball, Mr. Chute felt the force of an angry Gohan, and Piccolo went to fight Radditz, not being able to rely on the help of Krillin and Yamcha. Radditz began an attack on Ivy City, and Gohan and his new-found friend Chris went to talk to Mrs. Marx. The end. Oh yeah, the last sentence of Chapter 5 had to do with Gohan and Chris and Mrs. Marx. _'What they saw almost made them scream.' _Oh, and don't mind if Mrs. Marx changes from a Mrs. to a Miss, I told you my memory is bad and I'm to lazy to look it up ^.^ OK, _now_ you can _try_ and enjoy the story.

*****

As Radditz continued his reign of terror on Ivy city, Mrs. Marx struggled to get the orphanage evacuated before the walls literally fell down about her ears. Gohan and Chris stood frightened in the midst of their fellow four- and –five year olds, most of whom were sobbing and scared. Gohan and Chris, however, stood rigid in shock. No one had seen what they had. A tall man with huge, conspicuous black hair had been walking down the center of the street. Gohan hadn't seen any sort of weapon, but the man had been firing and effectively destroying buildings. He was absolutely terrified, and could tell that Chris was trying not to tremble. And, though it should have been the least of his worries, Gohan's stomach was really bothering him. It wasn't so much as a stomach ache anymore as a head ache; a sort of a buzzing in the back of his head, and it seemed to be making him more frightened. 

"That guy is very strong," He found himself saying to Chris. She looked at him oddly. 

"How do you know?" She asked. Gohan shrugged. Chris scoffed. "I bet he's really weak, but it's just his weapon that makes him seem powerful. Only weak people need weapons to take over cities." She finished matter-of-factly.

"So the entire human race since the beginning of time has been weak." Gohan mused. Chris grinned.

"Precisely." Gohan smiled weakly. "There, that's better! You look so grim all the time, lighten up!" She exclaimed. "Come on, let's go talk to my friends. They look like they could use some lightening up too." Before he could respond, Gohan found himself being dragged over to a group of girls he recognized as Chris's sandbox buddies. They all looked especially apprehensive. "Hey guys, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Gohan." She shoved Gohan forward and he waved timidly. "Gohan, this is Al," A girl with jet hair scrutinized Gohan from head to toe, nodded, and stuck out her hand. Gohan shook it awkwardly. "Bobbi," A curly-haired brunette stepped forward.

"Hi!" She exclaimed, nearly bouncing from apparent excitement. "I'm Bobbi! Nice to meet you!" Gohan shook her hand and she bounced over to Chris.

"And Dani." Chris finished. A red-head looked at Gohan and into his eyes. Hers were ice-blue and scared him. She sighed and said simply,

"Hi."

"So does he talk?" Al said skeptically. 

"Yeah, I talk. Just not much." Gohan replied, not quite knowing what to make of the girls.

"OK, now that we're all aquainted, let's go play! The playground's empty."

"Play what?" Dani asked, still holding an eye on Gohan. She obviously had less than friendly feelings towards him.

"OOOO!!!" Bobbi squealed. "Let's save the city! Let's save the city!!!!" She was bouncing up and down again. Chris nodded.

"Sounds good, considering the current situation. OK, Gohan, you're the crazy guy and we're the four heroines who are going to stop you." 

"Hey, why do I have to be the crazy guy?!" Gohan protested.

"You're the only guy here." Dani pointed out coldly.

"Plus, you look a little like him." Chris said, ignoring Dani's hostility.

"Thanks. That's just what I needed to here." Gohan replied.

"Anytime! Now try to look menacing!" Chris coached. Gohan grinned evilly and stretched himself as tall as he could. Flailing his arms and baring his teeth, he uncurled his tail from its position around his waist. Chris, Al, and Bobbi allowed their eyes to go wide and Dani narrowed hers to slits.

"What is that?!?!" Al nearly screamed. Gohan frowned and brought his tail around in front of him.

"My tail." He said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Tail?" Dani nearly hissed, not bothering to hide any animosity towards him. Chris smiled then and broke the staring contest the two were having.

"Wow, you have a tail just like Psycho Guy! You two could be related!" Gohan groaned.

"You mean you've been in the same dormitory as me for four years and never noticed, but you get a two-second glimpse of this guy and your radar instantly picks it up?" All the girls nodded solemnly, though not all of them had seen Psycho Guy. Gohan hadn't noticed a tail. He sighed. The game commenced; four young warriors and a monster duking it out in the midst of what soon would be a real battle.

*****

Piccolo followed Radditz's trail of destruction. Even if he hadn't been able to sense ki, it would not have been difficult to find the Saiyan. The remains of whatever he had demolished were still smoldering. Piccolo found the devastated suburbs of Icy City and the city itself in uproar. With a sudden start, he realized he had been to this city once before, four years ago. He remembered the boy very well. Gohan had been completely powerless then. What about now? Piccolo allowed a slight ray of hope to shine through. If Goku's son had inherited his power, perhaps he could be of some use. Piccolo blocked this thought quickly, however. The boy was but four. How would he do any good against this powerful an opponent? Besides, the only significant ki he felt right now was Radditz's; evil and taunting, daring Piccolo to test its depths. But he would do no such thing- a cool head would get him out of this, hopefully alive. He took a deep breath and landed in the city. He soon found Radditz continuing his rampage. He threw a ki blast at Radditz, hoping to catch him off guard, though it went against everything he knew about honor. Radditz's scouter gave a high-pitched beep and its owner spun around just in time to deflect the blast and send it careening into a building. He faced Piccolo.

"Nice try, but don't think I didn't see you coming." He said smugly. "Ready to fight?" Piccolo nodded. "Fool. Rushing to your death. The sun is not set yet." 

"I don't care. Let's get this over with." Piccolo said, falling into his fighting stance. He wouldn't bother leaving the city to ensure the inhabitant's safety; he felt he was pushing his luck already.

Radditz attacked first, leading off with a punch aimed at Piccolo's face. Piccolo managed to block it, but Radditz followed through with a solid hit to his abdomen. After this, he didn't wait for Piccolo's reaction, but continued to hammer his stomach, driving him back little by little until Piccolo was up against a wall. Radditz gave one more strong punch to Piccolo's torso and the brick behind him cracked, sending tiny veins up the wall. With the next hit, the wall gave way, but instead of falling with it, Piccolo leapt behind Radditz to begin his offensive from there.

Piccolo started his attack, but Radditz matched his speed, and doubtless could have surpassed it. The battle continued on like this for some while, with Piccolo throwing millions of punches, and Radditz blocking all of them with ease. Finally, Radditz got bored with the game and grabbed one of Piccolo's flying fists. He tossed Piccolo effortlessly into the air and sent a small ki blast after him. Piccolo countered this one with a blast of his own and the two canceled each other out. Piccolo looked down on Radditz from the sky.

"Masenko!" He let loose a golden beam that headed directly for Radditz. Radditz charged up a blue beam and sent it at Piccolo's. the two beams matched for a second before Radditz sent a burst of energy through his, causing Piccolo's to shrink back almost to his face. Radditz gave a slight nudge and his hit Piccolo full-force before the Namek even realized what was happening. Instantly, his charred body could be seen falling with increasing speed toward the pavement, where bone and concrete cracked with a sickening thud. Piccolo struggled to raise himself from the newly-made hole as Radditz approached with disturbingly heavy footsteps. As Piccolo managed to bring himself to a half-standing, half-crouching position, Radditz extended his arm and raised his hand vertically.

"Sayonara." Piccolo's eyes widened as a small, powerful ki blast sped towards him with all the speed of death, leaving him unable to move for fear. Suddenly, he heard the explosion- far away and unreal. Maybe it was unreal, because piccolo felt no pain. Certainly this wasn't dying? He ventured to look up and saw a shadowed figure standing over him with his arm out. To the left of Piccolo, there was a fresh hole in a building. Radditz looked as though he was trying to decide between laughing and killing. Piccolo would live a little longer.

*****

I do hope you enjoyed that. The author's note seems longer than the story ^.^() hem, oops. I can't resist long explanations. OK, here's the good news; There is no way in hell the next chapter is gonna take as long as this one as long as I am unblocked. The bad news is I get blocked frequently. Welp, until next time, toodles!

~mysticGohan33~ 


	6. Orphaned Chapter 6

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Orphaned Chapter 6

Disclaimer- I do not own dragon ball/z/Gt.

Note- What? No three-page-long note this time? I can tell you're all disappointed. Well, I'm finally getting this up. Here is a recap of last time

Gohan played in the midst of chaos with his new-found friends Chris Bobbi Al and Dani. Dani is not a big Gohan fan. Piccolo nearly got killed by Radditz, but some unknown guy saved his life, we'll find out who it is in this chapter.

*****

"C'mon, hurry up!" Dani pulled Chris into the bushes. "OK, we're safe here." They were still playing 'Save the City'.

"That's great," Said Chris, "But what about Bobbi and Al?"

"We won't stay long. I need to ask you about Gohan."

"OK, shoot. What about him?"

"He's one of Mr. Chute's patients, isn't he?"

"Yes. But so am I." Chris replied, wondering where this was going.

"Are you sure he's all right? He bears an… uncanny… resemblance to the _real_ Psycho Guy."

"So what? Are you saying he's crazy?"

"I'm not saying anything. It's just… well, everyone here comes from somewhere, right? Your parents were too young and abandoned you. Bobbi's parents died and left her in the care of an uncle, but he didn't want her. Al showed up here just last year, saying she was left in a store, but we know she ran away. I was put here by my parents because they were psychic and I was born under the wrong planets."

"What does all this have to do with Gohan?"

"Why is he here?"

"His parents died!" Chris said, defensively. 

"How?"

"How should I know? I just met him."

"Well, watch out for him. He is not normal." Chris watched as Dani stalked off back to the 'battlefield' to help Bobbi and Al. Dani was odd sometimes. Both her parents had worked in a temple, and Dani had inherited their power of seeing visions occasionally. She was the type of girl who could look into a person's soul and find their true personality. Chris wondered what Dani had seen in Gohan.

*****

A small figure landed next to the taller one. Piccolo stood and was able to see them clearly.

"Tien," He said, somewhat surprised to see the triclops here. He looked down at the small figure next to him. Chautzhu was here too. "How-" He began.

"We sensed his power. You'd have to be pretty dense not to." Tien said, never taking his eyes off Radditz, who had decided to laugh.

"A clown and a freak show? This is your defense?" Tien and Piccolo looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. They attacked simultaneously and the fight was on. They moved slowly to the center of the city with Chautzhu trailing behind. Tien had told him to stay out of the fight until it was necessary. 

Radditz seemed just as skilled in fighting two opponents as one. As Tien and Piccolo threw all of their energy into attacks, Radditz defended himself perfectly, though not quite effortlessly. 

Tien broke from the hand-to-hand combat and began charging a ki blast. Piccolo held off Radditz while Tien threw the blast, ducking just as it approached. Unfortunately, Radditz saw it and also had time to dodge. The energy hit the building behind him, completely demolishing it. The battle continued. 

*****

Playing their game still, Gohan had a sudden feeling of impending doom.

"Everybody duck!" He yelled, running for the slide. He dragged Al and Dani with him, while Chris and Bobbi instinctively followed. Seconds later, the entire orphanage was leveled, sending bricks and debris everywhere. Had they not been under the slide, the five children would have been seriously hurt. The rest of the kids, safe in the far corner of the yard, watched in awe as the building was reduced to a pile of rubble. 

Gohan stepped out first as the smoke cleared. He now had a clear view of the street. He watched, amazed, at the power struggle between the three warriors. The fight was moving to fast for ordinary eyes to follow, but Gohan somehow managed it. When Chris, Al, Bobbi, Dani emerged, all they saw was a little clown who seemed to be watching an invisible show. They also saw Gohan watching the same thing.

"Um, Gohan?" Chris touched him on the shoulder to try and shake him from his trance-like state. But Gohan didn't move. His tail was rigid behind him as he watched the fight. The power he was seeing triggered something inside of him. Dozens of memories came reeling in from nowhere. The green man was a friend, and the man with the tail was most definitely not. Gohan didn't know the three-eyed one, but assumed he was good because he was helping to defend the city.

Chris, Al and Bobbi didn't quite know what to think. Dani shrugged as if to say 'I told you so.' and walked off to join the rest of the orphanage. Al and Bobbi followed soon afterwards. Chris stared after Gohan for a while. She was convinced he wasn't crazy, and that he actually saw something there. Perhaps Mr. Chute had given him some sort of hallucinogen? She grabbed his shoulder and shook him a little. He turned to look at her.

"Gohan, what are you watching?" The boy cocked his head, looked back to the street, then looked at Chris again.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Chris said, "You look like you're watching something, but no one else can see it. All _I_ see is that little clown boy. 

"He's watching too. It's a fight."

"A fight?" Chris arched an eyebrow and stared intently at the spot.

"You see?" Gohan asked, watching again. "It's _very _fast-paced. And those little explosions they're throwing at each other? It's very strange." And it was very strange, both for Gohan and Chris. For Chris because she still saw nothing, but for Gohan because it was familiar. He could sense the potency of each blow or explosion, and was excited. In a rush, his dream came back to him, and he saw his father once more wrapped in golden light. The energy radiating from him was immense and Gohan knew no one else would have power like that for a long time. The image shattered suddenly as another ball of light exploded, and he found himself being shaken by Chris.

"Come on, let's go!" She said urgently. The rest of the orphans had boarded busses and they were the only two left. 

"Yeah, I'm coming. Just a sec." He pushed Chris in the direction of the busses and she left him. He wanted to watch just a while longer, but tore his eyes away. As he boarded the bus, two other powers approached the site. He looked up instinctively and saw two bright lights jetting across the sky and landing near the fight. The battle stopped momentarily and Gohan saw a short bald man and a taller fighter before the bus turned a corner.

*****

The fight was not going well. Radditz lived up to his confidence and countered Piccolo's and Tien's offensive with ease. Both knew he was toying with them, but they continued anyway. Tien skidded across the pavement after a harsh blow from Radditz and stopped at Chautzhu's feet. 

"Tien-"

"Stay back, Chautzhu." Tien said as he got up and went after Radditz again. Chautzhu watched helplessly form the sidelines as the battle continued none to well for his friend.

The struggle was seeming pretty grim to Piccolo's eyes. If Radditz continued to pretend he was at the same power level as they were, the fight would go on until they were to exhausted to continue. Then Radditz would kill them. If Radditz upped his power to its full potency, he would easily overpower them. Then he would kill them. There was no hope in sight until a small break in the struggle. Two figures landed beside Piccolo and Tien. 

"So you decided to come." Piccolo commented. Yamcha was sizing up Radditz with a quizzical eye. With the four of them, he should be easily beaten.

Krillin was looking at Piccolo and Tien. "You guys look kind of worn down. Uh, how strong _is_ he?" 

"Strong enough," Tien replied stoically. 

"Think we can take him?" Yamcha asked.

"That depends," Piccolo said. "If you've gotten stronger than last we met, then maybe." Krillin laughed nervously. 

"Well, well, well." Radditz said, spreading out his hands in front of himself. "Isn't this a touch uneven? You're not all going to try to go after me at once, now are you?

"Go for his tail." Krillin whispered, slipping into a fighting stance. Piccolo nodded. Radditz, however, laughed.

"I heard that," Said he, undaunted. He tightened his tail around his waist and frowned. He had checked each of their power levels on his scouter and decided it was time to show these puny earth-things who now owned this planet. Powering up to his max, he felt confident he could destroy them. They had to know that with four fighters attacking, all with different styles, someone was bound to get in the way.

Not knowing this, or perhaps choosing to believe they could all work together, the four warriors attacked at once, each at a different angle. The Saiyan, in truth, was having difficulty blocking attacks from all sides, and looked wildly for an opening in someone's defenses. He found one in Yamcha's and quickly sent him flying. He spun around and kicked Tien out of the circle too. Piccolo and Krillin, however, doubled their assault. But Radditz could handle two much easier than four and soon had the upper hand again. That was when Yamcha bounced back.

"Note to self:" Radditz thought. "Make sure they _stay_ down." The Freak Show however, he noted with satisfaction, is not back. But then-

"Get back!" Piccolo yelled. He, Krillin, and Yamcha jumped back, and Radditz found himself face-to face with a huge ki blast, compliments of Tien. It hit him hard; he'd barely enough time to throw up a hasty shield. As it was, that hasty shield was enough to protect Radditz from the full force of the blast, and when the dust cleared, he was only slightly singed. As the four warriors came in for another attack, Radditz sent out two ki blasts- one from each of his hands- at Piccolo and Tien, feeling that the two should be weakest. He then spun around and dealt the same with the approaching Krillin and Yamcha. They dodged and came back at him. Tien and Piccolo were up again too.

"Like insects," Radditz thought, flying up so the four attacking him had to stop abruptly to keep from ramming into each other. "It's been fun. Say goodbye, pests!" Radditz raised his hand to wipe out the entire city, quickly forming the blast the would do the job. Tien didn't wait, but began to fly up to stop him. The attack being more than half-finished, however, he didn't have a prayer of making it in time. Radditz prepared to wipe the city off the face of the Earth when a small body hit his back and latched on, causing the deadly blast to go out of control.

"What the Hell?!" Radditz tried to reach the thing on his back, but couldn't.

"I'm sorry, Tien. But it's necessary now." A small, high voice came from behind Radditz, along with a pulsing blue light.

"Chautzhu!" Tien stopped in midair. "No! Don't!  
"Goodbye, Tien." And he exploded in a brilliant blast, taking Radditz down with him. The Saiyan's body, too tough to disintegrate, fell to he earth with a thud. His armor had been severely mangled and he was quite bloody. Tien floated slowly back down and hung his head, his face a mixture of anger and grief. Yamcha smile and walked over to him.

"Don't worry, Tien. We'll wish him back with the dragon balls."

"No. He's already been wished back. Damn it!!" Tien began involuntarily powering up.

"Woah! Calm down!" Krillin exclaimed. "Ah, don't you think we oughtta… well,, make sure he's really dead?"

"I hope he's not. Tien said, momentarily pausing his power increase. Piccolo had his back to the group and his arms crossed.

"What are you talking about? Of course he's—" Yamcha was cut off suddenly by a large hole in his abdomen. Piccolo whirled around as Yamcha fell to his knees, then dropped to his face.

"You." Tien hissed at Radditz, who was quite alive. His armor was cracked and bloodied, but he was grinning.

"Yes, me. Surprised? Don't be. That weak attack wasn't enough to kill me." He said smugly. Tien screamed his anger and flew at Radditz in a blind rage. Radditz caught his fist and flipped Tien onto his back. Tien got up and came back for more.

"Tien, Stop it!" Piccolo yelled, but Tien didn't let up. Radditz should have been hurting, but he was still attacking like it was the beginning of the fight. Something was seriously wrong with this picture. Piccolo couldn't understand it, but knew that if Earth was to have a chance, Tien needed to stop acting so foolishly and clear is head of the rage.

"Krillin, let's go." If Tien wasn't stopping, then they'd help. Krillin hesitated, still in shock from Yamcha's death. "He's _dead_! There is nothing you can do until we beat him! Now MOVE!" Krillin dragged his eyes off his dead friend's corpse and rushed to rejoin the fight with Piccolo.

*****

Gohan's bus trundled to a stop outside a rest stop. The rest of the buses carrying orphans had gone on to the nearest city, but one overly-obnoxious five-year-old just wouldn't shut up about the newest addition to his vocabulary- 'bladder'.

Gohan had been quiet the entire ride, ignoring Dani's looks and Chris's attempts at conversation. Eventually the four girls had left him alone, but he didn't even notice. He had been busy 'keeping an eye on' the fight, and it took a certain amount of concentration the further the bus got from the site. He had noticed that each fighter had a separate… feeling. Directly when the bus had stopped, Gohan had felt a pulse and fade of one of the 'feelings'. It had happened so quickly he'd jumped and was now gripping the edges of his seat very tightly. He knew someone had died, and he knew the enemy wasn't dead yet. Shortly afterward, another 'feeling' had faded and the enemy was strong again. Gohan felt he should help. He didn't know why, but he felt he should have been there to prevent this. Someone else would die soon, but what could he do?

__

So go help them. A little voice said in his head.

"I'd probably be in the way. I'm just a little kid!" Gohan protested silently.

__

You must go.

"Um…"

__

NOW! Gohan jumped.

"Chris, cover for me. I'll be back." He said as he ran past the confused looking girl. She didn't even have time to argue; the boy was out of earshot in a second. 

__

You actually probably won't be back.

"What?!"

__

Don't worry about it. Just run as fast as you can. So Gohan ran. The speeds that he was achieving should not have been humanly possible; he felt like he was flying across the ground, just barely skimming it with his feet. The closer he got to the city, the more livid the fight became in his mind. Soon he was on the outskirts again and sensed that at least one of the fighters was out of commission, though not dead. He hurried on his way.

Finally, he found the center of destruction. The Psycho Guy _looked_ battered, but certainly didn't act that way. The short, bald one was down, the clown-ish boy was gone, and the scarred one had a large hole in his torso. Gohan blinked. He had never seen death before, and certainly not so violent. The fight was moving too fast, so even if he could fight, he wouldn't have been able to keep up. Maybe he could help the bald guy. Ducking as the green man flew over his head into a building, Gohan rushed over to Krillin.

"Hey mister, can you hear me?" The monk opened his eyes painfully. Gohan smiled.

"Kid, get away from here." Krillin said, trying to sit up.

"Uh-uh. I ran a long was to get here and I'm gonna help." Gohan helped him get to his feet and half carried him behind a pile of rubble to get out of danger.

"Kid-"

"My name's Gohan."

"Gohan?!" Krillin looked shocked. Hadn't that been the name of Goku's Grandfather? How common a name was it?

"What?"

"Nothing. What are you doing here?"

"A voice in my head told me to come." Gohan said innocently.

"Right. The voice in your head."

"Yeah. He said you guys needed help, though I don't know what I can do." Krillin looked Gohan over. He didn't sense much power in him, but his ki was higher then most. He appeared to be no more than five years, at the most, and didn't look exceptionally strong. And he had… a tail?!

*****

TA-DA! What do you think? I know that theoretically, Piccolo, Tien, Yamcha, and Krillin _should_ have been able to beat Radditz, but I've got other plans… a little theory… that'll probably explode in my face. But whatever. So, If you like long winded explanations ask me a question ^.^ in any case, leave a review. Until next time, toodles!

~mysticGohan33~


	7. Orphaned Chapter 7

Orphaned Chapter 7 __

Orphaned Chapter 7

Disclaimer- You KNOW I do not own Dragon ball, or any related characters. This is not making any money, otherwise I would be rich! And I assure you, I am not. So why even bother to ask? They aren't mine.

Note- Took forever. I know. I had it all written out, and It was terribly boring. I went back and salvaged what I could. So hopefully this is not quite as boring. Here you go.

*****

Piccolo saw the boy as he (Piccolo) was momentarily incapacitated. Springing back to the fight, he saw him help Krillin. For some reason, the sight of Gohan gave him hope. After all, he _was_ the son of Goku. He belonged on the battlefield. But what could he do now, unaware, and, Piccolo assumed, untrained? Nothing more than help the fallen. This was still up to he and Tien.

*****

"You have… a tail?" Krillin half asked, half exclaimed. Gohan wrapped his tail cautiously around his waist. So far, all of his friends had not cared about this extra appendage, but this guy might. What if he though Gohan was with the enemy?

"Yes." He replied simply. Let him think what he would.

Krillin_ was_ thinking, slowly putting the pieces together. Finally, deciding that there was nothing else to be done, he asked.

"Gohan, let me ask you a question." He said seriously. Gohan jumped. He'd been watching the battle. He had a pretty good guess as to what was coming. It would be

'Gohan, are you related to that guy?' or

'Gohan, are you on our side?' or something to that extent.

"Who is your father?" Gohan looked up sharply. He wasn't expecting _that. _He looked down at his toes, remembering his dream and all the fuss it had caused. But it couldn't hurt to tell his name, could it? No. This guy was in no condition to hurt him anyway.

"Goku," Recalling the only valuable pieces of information Mr. Chute had given him. He watched his friend's eyes go wide.

"You're _Son_ Gohan?" He asked, disbelievingly.

"Yes. Why?"

"Where is your dad?" He sounded urgent. Gohan frowned.

"Dead."

"Dead?" His eyes got impossibly wider. "No. Piccolo was right." He whispered.

"Who's Piccolo?" Gohan asked, trying to change the subject.

"Look at the fight," Krillin instructed. Gohan did so, though he really couldn't make out one body from another, they were moving so fast. "The green one is Piccolo. The triclops is Tien, and the one in weird armor is Radditz." He spat the Saiyan's name out angrily.

"And you are…"

"Krillin. I'm… I was… a friend of your father's." This time it was Gohan's eyes that grew. "Your father and I were great friends. We used to fight alongside each other. _He_ could have stopped this." Krillin said, referring to the fight. Gohan felt a swell of pride. "I'll tell you all about him later, but now my question is, why aren't you at your Grandfather's?"

"I have a grandfather?"

"Well where were you living all this time?"

"I thought I was an orphan. I've been at St. Ivy's." Krillin groaned.

"That was a mistake on someone's part. We'll fix it as soon as we send this guy back to where he came from." He rose shakily.

"Are you OK?"

"I'll be fine." He ran the few short feet to the battle and jumped right in. Gohan tried his hardest to see the details, but all he saw were blurs. He now was rooting for his new friends not just because they could save the city, but because they knew his dad. Survival was imperative; he wished now more than ever that he could help.

*****

Maybe it was just him, but the fight was looking better to Tien. Either Radditz had slowed down, or they were getting faster. Piccolo thought differently. He sensed Radditz's power fluctuating. At one moment it would sky-rocket and he'd have the advantage for a few minutes, but then it would return back to normal, allowing Tien and Piccolo to get in a few good hits before it went up. Perhaps he was imagining things, but when the Saiyan's ki rose, it seemed as though a fraction of the Eternal Dragon's power became manifest in their enemy. Piccolo had a theory as to what was going on, but he didn't like it. When Krillin jumped back in, revitalized, both of the already engaged warriors were a bit shocked, but accepted it and continued with renewed vigor. Radditz's ki had hit a low point now and the three went in to attack, but, quickly as it'd fallen, it rose again. The Z fighters quickly shifted to defense. Looking for a weak spot, the three jumped back.

"I don't know what his ki is doing, but we need to hit him as soon as it's down." Tien said quickly.

"Right. Don't hold back!" And the team leapt back to the attack. Radditz's power was fluctuating too rapidly to pull off a kill shot now, but if it followed its pattern, they should have a good chance. The power dipped-

"NOW!" At once, three incredibly strong ki attacks came streaking towards Radditz.

"Kamehameha!" Both Krillin and Tien let loose the gigantic blue beam.

"Masenko!"

Radditz knew his power had hit a valley: he didn't rightfully know _why_ it was fluctuating beyond his control, but he knew right now it was either block or be fried. He put his arms up and formed a shield, praying it would hold. He needn't have worried; his power fluxed again, rocketing to a new high. As a result, all three super-speeded, high powered, and potentially deadly blasts raced back to their creators and struck- _hard._ All were blown back amid the rubble of the ruined city. None moved. Radditz was exhausted. That last rise in power had cost him some energy, but it didn't matter now. He had won. _HE HAD WON!_ Chalk another one up for the Saiyan race. Radditz let out a good long laugh of victory- not a hint of relief; he had never been worried. However, if his scouter hadn't been in pieces amidst the destruction, he would have been… oh he would have been.

*****

Gohan had watched the fight eagerly. He was certain good would prevail. To a four year old, good always prevailed. It _had_ to. If it didn't, what would be the purpose of being good? The entire world would come crashing down. When the bad guy blew all three of the good guys back, Gohan got slightly worried. But certainly they'd be back up in a moment. They weren't. The bad guy was _laughing_. Gohan's world came crashing down. Gohan didn't like it when worlds came crashing down. Gohan didn't like it when bad guys won. Gohan didn't like it when he lost friends, no matter how briefly they'd met. Gohan was angry. He jumped out from behind the rubble, feeling rage growing in him. One part of his mind screamed

"THIS IS LUDICRIS! YOU ARE FOUR YEARS OLD!" Another part very calmly said

"Shut up. Go for it, kid." Gohan listened to the calm voice. He let his rage loose, and felt his own 'feeling' grow, far beyond the dark 'feeling' of Radditz. And then, he lost control.

"You hurt my friends!" He yelled, flying for the Saiyan, who had his back turned. Radditz heard him, but didn't recognize the voice. Before he could acknowledge it, however, a small, hard something collided with his spine, sending a painful jolt through his entire nervous system. Gohan fell away, his momentary power fading. Radditz was frozen for a few seconds, both in anger and confusion. His armor was only hanging on by a few bits now, and the strange power that had aided him in the fight was entirely spent.

'I'll just finish off this kid, then the rest of the planet.' He thought, almost glad this job was over. Trying to fathom how a child of little more than three years of age could do such damage to him, he stalked over to the sleeping form of Gohan. Then he caught sight of something brown and furry lying next to the kid…_attached _to the kid! A Saiyan, undoubtedly. Radditz didn't know of any other human-like creatures with such a trait. That would explain the power. But how? No matter. With a little training, he would do just as well as- maybe better than- Kakarot. Kakarot! Was it possible his brother could have- no, Saiyans would not interbreed with other species. Unless what the green man had said was true. _And he protected Earth with his life. _Why had he forsaken his race? Radditz did not know. But at least the kid was salvageable.

Instead of killing the child, he picked him up and began back to his pod. He'd stash him there until the job was done, then report back to Vegeta. No problem.

Except one. Krillin had heard Gohan's enraged screams and forced his eyes open. All he saw was Radditz taking Gohan away. He struggled to get up despite his heavy wounds. One arm dangled limply and a myriad of scratches and blood stains covered his body.

Piccolo had seen more. He had seen Gohan's power. He knew he had to get up. If only it didn't hurt so badly. Painfully he rose, joining Krillin, a little better off than the monk. Piccolo's arm had actually been blown off, but he was able to gather the energy to replace it. Other than that, his most serious injuries were multiple broken bones.

Tien fared no better. He'd seen the same as Krillin, and miraculously kept all his limbs. Yes, all three were alive, if a bit beaten. What sort of fighters would they be if they couldn't withstand their own attacks?

'We owe our lives to that kid,' Though Piccolo. 'I guess it's a good thing I didn't kill him when I had the chance.'

"That's Goku's son! We have to get him!" Exclaimed Krillin. Tien, being the only one who didn't already know this, was the only one wide-eyed. But he kept his head.

"We need to heal first. We can't fight like this." He stated.

"Neither can he!" Protested Krillin. "We still outnumber him."

"And if we get a sensu first, we'll be sure to win."

"Or we'll be sure to give him time to heal. Remember how fast Goku healed?"

"Enough!" Piccolo tired of this bickering. "You two go get sensus. _I _will keep an eye on Radditz to make sure he doesn't try to leave the planet with the kid. Besides, I have no desire to go anywhere nearer to Kami then I absolutely must." And with that settled, Piccolo flew off, following Radditz's ki. Krillin and Tien shrugged, and went to get the sensus. All three flew as fast as was possible, considering their injuries.

*****

Gohan came 'round a bit later and found himself in the least likely place. There was a rounded ceiling above him, a complicated console in front of him, and a hard seat beneath him. A spaceship of some sort? Well, he didn't like it. It was hot and uncomfortable, and he wanted out! Gohan may have been smart for his age, but the prospect of being trapped and lost frightened him. He had instinct and high intelligence, but he was still just four years old.

As it was, Gohan neither knew what had happened, why he was here, or when he could get out. Four-year-old inquisitiveness pushed him to push the multiple buttons before him, but fourteen-year-old wisdom advised against it. He settled for studying the panel intently, keeping his fingers carefully in check.

*****

Tien seemed resigned to the fate that he would not see his friend again in this life, and the thought made him even more solemn than usual. They would wish Goku, Chichi, and Yamcha back with the Dragonballs, but it would not be possible to bring Chautzhu back.

Krillin hoped Piccolo wouldn't do anything foolish. He seemed to hold a personal grudge against him.

"Tien, do you think-"

"No, Piccolo would not attack Radditz unless he was certain he'd win."

"Oh. OK."

*****

Far, far away, Radditz, son of Bardock, brother of Kakarot, and about to deliver the last blow to another city, sneezed. The blast went awry, and he cursed the air of the planet before continuing the destruction.

Thinking he heard something, he spun around in the air.

'Now you're being paranoid,' He scolded himself. Still… it would be nice to have his scouter. Finishing off the city, he turned to head back to his ship to see if he'd brought a spare. Piccolo followed stealthily. Radditz was almost as beaten up as he was. They'd have no problem taking him down. Suddenly, Piccolo picked his head up. They were heading toward a familiar ki. 

'Gohan,' thought Piccolo. Would Radditz take off with him before completing his mission? Piccolo had no qualms watching millions of innocents die by Radditz's hand. They never did anything for him, what should he care? But if Radditz was about to leave without Piccolo getting revenge, Piccolo would die stopping him. Now, Piccolo could sense the world's population. Sure, a good chunk was missing from Japan, but they were more or less all there. Radditz wouldn't leave now. No, the best thing, Piccolo decided, would be to watch him.

Radditz touched down at what was obviously a landing site. He slid down the side of a huge crater. Piccolo remained hidden. A moment later, Radditz emerged and took off again. Piccolo cast a look into the crater at the small pod. So that's where Gohan was being kept. Well, he could live with it a little longer while Piccolo followed Radditz again. Krillin and Tien should be on their way shortly.

*****

Gohan stopped worrying for a moment when the door to his prison opened, letting in light and new air. Then he began worrying worse than ever. The figure in the door was Radditz. Then what had happened to Krillin and the others?? The though of escape crossed his mind, but he realized he was dwarfed by Radditz's size and wouldn't make it far. He didn't even know where he was! The bulky figure in the door reached under the seat and pulled out a weird device. Attaching it to his head, he uttered the first words Gohan had heard out of him. 

"Sit tight, kid." His voice bubbled with anticipation. He closed the door and took off. Was that a warning? Gohan wondered. He sat on his wandering fingers now. The last thing he needed was to piss off his captor by breaking his ship-thingy. 

*****

Radditz turned on his scouter. "Prince Vegeta?" He asked tentatively, using his good arm to continue destruction. The other arm dangled uselessly.

"Radditz!" Came the angry reply. He winced. "What's taking so long?!"

"I ran into some… problems." He explained cautiously. It was true; the job should have been done long ago. "But hey are taken care of." Vegeta made a low growl in his throat.

"Did you retrieve Kakarot?"

"No. It seems my little brother has gotten himself killed." Silence on the other side. "I do have his son, however."

"How old?" Came the impassive reply. Radditz hesitated.

"Not sure." He mumbled.

"Power level?"

"Fairly high."

"_How_ high?"

"Incredibly high for his age."

"Bring him to our base when you're done. Freiza will not know about him." The connection ended. Ordinarily, Freiza would have heard every word of the past conversation, but Vegeta had thought further than that. He had a small base set up on a tiny planet. The asteroid field surrounding it prevented outside ships from picking up anything more than static, even from scouters. Freiza would hear only what they wanted him to hear. Of course, Vegeta still had to spend most of his time at Freiza's base, but in his spare time he was at his own base… plotting, always plotting. Radditz grinned. The Saiyans' salvation lay with that kid.

*****

Sorry that took so long, but I was really confused when I went back and read over it so I went back and revised it a couple times to bring you this version, hopefully better than the first two versions of Chapter 7. Tell me what you think, because according to the computer my writing style reflects that I'm only in third grade ^.^() Also, I'm not sure if Tien uses Kamehameha, but I couldn't find another attack that he could use as early as Radditz for a kill. So if it's wrong, please enlighten me ^.^ toodles!

~mysticGohan33~ 


	8. Orphaned Chapter 8

Orphaned8 __

Orphaned Chapter 8

Disclaimer- I do not own any of the Dragon Ball Universe! At all! Legally, that is. Technically I have this cute little Videl figurine that I bought… thus I own it… but the _idea_ for it was not mine… well, you get the drift!

Note- Nothing, just enjoy the story with my apologies for taking so long.

*****

Tien and Krillin sped back from Korin's tower as fast as was humanly (or otherwise) possible. Both had taken a senzu and had received a full bag from Korin. Now they sped toward Piccolo's ki, which, in fact, was heading to meet them as well. Tien pulled a senzu from the bag and tossed it to Piccolo when they met in midair. All of his wounds were instantly healed and his muscles surged with new power. 

"I know where the kid is. Radditz has him stashed in his ship." Krillin and Tien looked at each other. Now they knew where Gohan was. Did they rescue him first, or attack Radditz? Piccolo sensed their thoughts and the question easily. "Kill Radditz, then you can take your own time doing whatever you need. You don't know how long you'll have before he takes off." He said, passing off a tone of carelessness with ease. Krillin arched an eyebrow. The plan seemed sound, but for how long were they going to trust Piccolo? No matter. The problem at hand was Radditz.

*****

Radditz, however, had problems of his own. It was taking too long to demolish cities one by one. Already religious groups were coming to him pledging allegiance. The people of Earth were a fickle race…

He wondered briefly if he could manage a blast controlled well enough to wipe out all life, but leave the land intact. Briefly wondered. Then he tried it. If it wrong, well, Freiza really didn't care that much about this particular out-of-the-way planet. 

Radditz flew into the air far enough so that a largely populated portion of the nation was in his vision. He charged a blast over his head, guessing at the potency required. After only a moment of waiting, the deadly sphere was ready. Hurling it with a mixture of malice and impatience, he watched the lethal energy as it made contact. Exploding in a dazzling array of light and smoke, half a dozen cities were instantly demolished leaving behind only singed and blackened land. Radditz shrugged. The land would heal itself over time. He began forming a larger, less potent blast to cover more area but do less damage to the earth itself, but was interrupted by the sudden, if not timely, arrival of Tien, Krillin, and Piccolo.

"How could you?" Krillin asked, gesturing a shaking hand at what had seconds ago been a bustling suburb. Radditz shrugged again with a large grin plastered on his face. Then, slowly, he comprehended what he was seeing. His three enemies, whom he had left for dead, now floated menacingly before him. He glanced at the half-formed blast still floating casually above his hand. He looked at the seemingly immortal opposition. It would do. Mustering all of his rage, he heaved the blast towards the three. They scattered, causing the errant ki to go careening off into the distance, where it proceeded to extinguish a dozen more thriving communities. 

Krillin, Tien, and Piccolo leapt to the attack. Still retaining his previous wounds, Radditz found himself grievously outclassed. Realizing he could not win in this state, he made a decision. He needed to overwhelm them, so he began charging a large blast. Dropping quickly to the scarred ground so as not to waste energy flying, he dipped into his already exhausted reserves. This attack would suck him completely dry, but hopefully would do plenty of damage to them as well. The Z fighters followed Radditz to the ground. If he wanted to fight here, that was fine. Most of them fought better on land anyway. They didn't expect Radditz to have this last tick, however. When the blast came at them, they easily dodged, but it broke into three separate spheres and followed each of them at breathtaking speed. Inevitably, each crashed into its prey, creating large clouds of smoke. Such a jar was this to Krillin that the senzus, which had been securely tied to his belt, came loose and fell to the ground. Radditz's enhanced vision noted this, but what importance the beans held was lost to him. When the smoke cleared each of the warriors were equally stunned, but recovered quickly. Radditz had dropped to his knees in exhaustion. Krillin picked up the senzu bag which, coincidentally, had spilled a few in the vicinity of Radditz, who now lay prone, semi-conscious, on the ground. He watched, dazed, as Krillin passed out senzus. Though the damage done was not too terrible, Radditz's attack had done more than he'd thought. He saw them heal, all cuts, bruises, and injuries vanished. His muddled thoughts connected; Bean = healing…. And one had landed not too far from him…

"Should we really kill him?" Tien asked, discussing with Krillin and Piccolo. "I mean, he's helpless." 

"But he'll heal. And he will get stronger." Piccolo said passively. Personally, he would love to blow the Saiyan to Hell and back right now, but for some reason he withheld that sentiment.

"He can't be all bad if he's Goku's brother." Krillin reasoned. Piccolo grinned. These morons didn't seem to understand that Goku was the exception. He didn't have time to comment on this, however. Three heads snapped up as one as they felt the spike of a now-familiar power. They turned around in time to see Radditz fly away. Piccolo let out a frustrated yell and took off after him, Krillin and Tien not far behind.

*****

Gohan had long since given up crying. The buttons no longer posed questions, nor were they tempting. He merely sat, his eyes red, but dry. He was calm now: the groggy sort of calm that follows a storm of tears. What little light that reached him was not comforting because of its red tint, and it only added to the menacing atmosphere. It didn't matter much anyway; the sun was sinking. Gohan was getting tired: it was amazing how much energy being scared took out of you. He resolved then and there never to be frightened again. 

He was just about to give in to weariness when the door hissed open for the second time in hours. Gohan squished himself into a corner, but refused to tremble. The bulky form of Radditz filled the door and then entered the pod. As the door closed, Gohan found himself feeling suddenly claustrophobic in the one-man ship, but Radditz picked him out of his corner and put him on his knee, almost affectionately. Gohan squirmed to get away at first, but Radditz held him firmly in place while he punched in the launch code. Despite himself, Gohan felt a thrill of excitement as he saw the ground rushing downward. The ship passed a green blur and straight through the atmosphere, not pausing until they were clear of Earth's orbit. The child's excitement must have shown on his face, because Radditz grinned. But the boy's pleasure slowly dwindled to terror again despite his earlier vow not to fear anything. His uncle must have seen this emotion, too, because he found he owed an explanation to his nephew.

"Do you know what you are?" Radditz asked. Gohan, startled at being addressed, turned to look at Radditz with wide, innocent eyes. Radditz grinned to himself. Real tactful way to begin a conversation…

*****

Piccolo flew directly to the landing site, but was too late. Just as he arrived, the Saiyan pod sped off, nearly taking his head with it. Piccolo scowled deeply. If he knew Radditz (and he should like to think he could profile his own enemies) he'd be back for revenge. He hadn't completed his assignment. Piccolo lowered himself to the ground as Tien and Krillin made their appearance. Krillin stared at the sky for a moment before letting out a string of curses.

"Don't worry," Piccolo advised. "He'll be back. And judging from what I heard, with friends." Piccolo grinned ominously and took off. Krillin and Tien just looked at each other. _More_ Saiyans?

"I guess we'd better start training." Tien sighed. He'd have no partner. Krillin nodded and the two rose into the sir, ready to go their separate ways.

"Hey, wait!" A voice shouted. The two looked down. There was Yajirobe in his air-car. "Hey!" He yelled again. Tien and Krillin lowered to eye-level. "Kami wants to see you." He said importantly. Then, as an afterthought, "And Piccolo."

"Good luck finding him," Tien stated. "Once he's gone, he _stays_ gone." Yajirobe just shrugged and flew off again. The two warriors began towards Kami's lookout, wondering what the guardian needed.

*****

Gohan was bewildered. First he was an orphan, then he found out about his father's friends and a grandfather, and then, the real kicker, his uncle. At first, he refused to believe that this monster was his uncle. How could he be related to someone who wanted to destroy life? But then, what Chris had said earlier (it seemed like years ago now) came back to haunt him.

__

'Hey, you have a tail just like Psycho Guy! You two could be related…'

If the idea was bad then, it was horrifying now, because Gohan realized it just might be true. It seemed like anything was possible now that he was flying through space and had passed the Solar System long ago.

Radditz had also told Gohan _why_ he had been taken from Earth, and a myriad more about his father than Mr. Chute ever could have. It must be true. Gohan's 4-year-old mind took things at face value. What reason had he to believe someone would deceive him?

As the pod hurtled through space, Radditz continued with the chilling tale of a race called Saiyan. Gohan found himself despising the tyrant known as Freiza, and wanting revenge. He realized, as much as he could at that age, that this was his destiny. But he still didn't quite like it.

"Uncle Radditz?" The boy asked tentatively after a period of silence. Radditz grunted and said

"It's just Radditz." Gohan nodded.

"I can't fight." He said slowly, meaning both physically and in will. Radditz simply leaned back and smiled.

__

'We'll see,' He thought. _'We'll see.'_

*****

When Krillin and Tien arrived at Kami's lookout, Piccolo was already there, hovering in a corner looking grim. Both warriors were surprised to see the Namek there: Piccolo would not go near Kami unless it was a case of most dire emergency.

They were greeted by Mr. Popo and Kami, who mirrored Piccolo's countenance.

"Something is wrong." The guardian stated.

"A lot of things are wrong," Commented Krillin. Kami shook his head.

"All the problems you have encountered- Chichi and Goku's deaths, the Saiyan known as Radditz, Yamcha and Chautzhu's deaths, the kidnapping of Gohan, the death of the OX King-''

"What? Chichi's father died? When?" Krillin queried, shocked. Kami looked slightly startled.

"Just recently." He said. "But as I was saying, all of these problems are somehow connected." Everyone present looked skeptical, excluding Mr. Popo. "Some time ago, I felt a… paranormal sort of tug, like something important had just occurred without my knowing." Kami sighed. "Then I discovered Goku had died. Four years earlier." The god paused, then continued. "I assume the death of the entire Son line was shrouded from everyone. I know everybody would have noticed had there not been… other factors…involved." Everyone- including Popo, was staring at him blankly. "Let me try that again. I found out Goku had died after Krillin and the others had. By this time he had been in the other world for four years, in Earth time."

"You're not exactly being clear," Growled Piccolo irritably. Kami blinked once then deemed it necessary to enlighten his befuddled audience.

"Someone, or something is messing with my perception. I no longer have a clear view of Earth. Goku and Chichi died without my knowing- and you didn't realize it either. I trust King Yemma dealt with them appropriately, but it was an abnormal death."

"You mean someone murdered them?" Krillin asked, truly frightened that anything could hurt Goku. Kami did not answer directly.

"Follow me." He said, and turned to enter the sanctuary.

Krillin had often wondered if Kami's lookout was some sort of altered space. Tien knew it must be true as they wandered further and further into dim halls and passages. Rightfully, they should have come out the other end by now, but it was not so. Finally, Kami turned into a large room lit at the center with a bright white light. Around the light revolved a large model of the Solar System. Pluto was as large as Krillin's head. As Tien and Krillin stared in awe, Kami attempted yet another explanation. 

"Notice the planets' alignment." He instructed. It looked normal to the viewers. And it was. "This is what they should look like." He waved his hand and the model changed. "And this is what they _do _look like." Even Tien and Krillin could easily see that there was something seriously wrong here. Planets scrambled to keep up with one another. Mercury flew as if to gain the momentum to fling itself to the stars; Neptune and Pluto nearly collided. Uranus' orbit was no longer sideways, but practically horizontal. 

"Luckily, Earth's orbit has not been altered." Kami said. "Though whether by some great coincidence or by a planned action, I cannot tell."

"So what this is doing is stopping you from diving certain deaths." Tien said. It didn't seem _too_ terrible. Kami nodded gravely.

"You must find the dragonballs! In order for the universe to be put back on track, Son Goku must live!" Now _that_ was important! Tien and Krillin nodded then turned to leave. The trip back down the hallway seemed much shorter- and indeed it might have been: When dealing in time and space, one can never be sure.

Kami turned back to the tumultuous cosmos and sighed.

"Nice try, Old Man." One of the shadows moved into the light. "You and I both know this is a lot bigger than a few deaths."

"Piccolo. I'd wondered where you went." Kami said gravely. He sighed again, more deeply. "Yes. It is. Son Goku will play a very important part in this planet's future." At this, Piccolo scoffed. Pretending not to hear, Kami continued. "His untimely death may cause the destruction of our solar system, and many planets besides." At this, Piccolo frowned and stalked out. Kami could have no answers for his next questions. He _had_ felt the 'paranormal tug', as Kami called it, and it worried him greatly. He had felt it a bit before the fight with Radditz and he knew it altered his performance. Perhaps it was this preoccupation that had allowed Radditz to escape. He hoped not. He didn't need _that_ on his conscience. Wait- what conscience? Piccolo was the Demon King! He never showed weakness or mercy- except to the children of his worst enemies…

*****

Tien and Krillin had gone straight to Capsule Corp. for Bulma (who had left Roshi's shortly after the news covered the destruction of Ivy City). When she heard the news, she immediately got excited and pulled out the Dragon Radar.

"It'll be just like old times!" She exclaimed. Krillin and Tien looked at each other.

"Ah… Bulma? Maybe you should sit this one out." As Bulma's face darkened, Krillin struggled to justify his statement. "I mean, it would go a lot faster…" Her eyes grew stormy. "What I'm trying to say is-'' She loomed threateningly above him. "Why don't you come along?" He finished lamely. Bulma smiled sweetly and marched out the door to a small capsule plane. Krillin sighed and followed, tailed by an amused Tien.

Once seated in the plane, Bulma turned on the radar. A confused look crossed her face and she pressed the button again. Nothing was happening on the tiny screen. Bulma made a frustrated noise and slammed the thing down on the console, but it could not be persuaded to work. "It's broken." She announced to the confused duo behind her. "Nothing shows."

"Can you fix it?" Tien asked impatiently.

"Of course!" Came an indignant reply. She jumped out of the plane and back to the house to fetch the tools.

*****

There you go. Not too much of a cliffhanger there. I must thank everyone who reviewed… and everyone who's still reviewing despite my…ah…slight tardiness… heh. I have no excuse except pure laziness and to many other fics going (and yet I didn't post any of those either…) oh well. It's here now. I hope it's sufficient. I love questions, so if you're confused, use that little box down there and ask me. or, if for some reason you'd rather email me, my address is [rejohnsen@yahoo.com][1] until next time then, toodles!

~mysticGohan33~ 

   [1]: mailto:rejohnsen@yahoo.com



	9. Orphaned Chapter 9

Orphaned Chapter 9

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the characters, thanks for asking

Note- Yes, it took long, and no, I don't expect anyone to still be reading it. A great big huge thank you to Gohan's Imoto . If she hadn't emailed me I prolly would never had gotten around to this. See what a help emails are *hint nudge wink*. Well, I suppose it's a good idea to do a recap…yes definitely.

Last time- Kami showed Tien, Krillin, and Piccolo a disturbed universe, explaining that something was interfering with the normal order of things. The he sent them off to find the dragon balls. Radditz has Gohan with him and they're zooming about space…that's about it.

*****

The hyper-sleep function had finally kicked in. Apparently, when Radditz had landed, that particular drive had been damaged. Radditz, who did not like delays, welcomed the rest, but Gohan fought it. He didn't understand this concept of artificial sleep and didn't appreciate it. As he struggled to stay awake amidst fumes designed to knock out an adult Saiyan, his mind danced over a million ideas. In the first place, all of the stories ever told to him about hostages flew back. Innocents drugged then dragged off for ransom seemed to be a recurring theme. Would his uncle hold him for ransom? Who would pay it? How could they ever pay with him out in space? Did they know he was gone, these friends of his father? Did they care? As the flight continued, Gohan's thoughts grew increasingly irrational. But that did not was not significant. In a matter of seconds, he was asleep, snoring gently in his uncle's arms.

*****

_Everything was dark and peculiarly dizzying. There was a bright light ahead in the darkness and Gohan ran towards it. A figure at the end of the tunnel (which did **not** get longer and longer) caught him up in his arms and enveloped the child with a warm, golden aura._

"Daddy?" Gohan felt rather than saw his father smile.

"Gohan." He said affectionately. Then his tone grew serious. "Be brave, my son. Your mother and I love you. Never forget that. Never forget who you are."

*****

Radditz looked out the window of the pod. Soldiers were exiting the main building to meet him. These were former recruits of Freeza's army, but they now pledged complete loyalty to Vegeta. The Prince was a charismatic leader, and Radditz admired him. He had painstakingly gone to each of this small army individually and in private, swaying them to his cause. He picked the ones who complained or, according to his theory, had had their home worlds destroyed by Freeza. 

Now there was a subject Radditz was divided on. According to Vegeta, Freeza had blown up Vegeta-sei, not a bunch of meteors. Why would he do that though? He'd had the entire race of Saiyans as his slaves, Radditz reflected bitterly, and he blew them all to Hell. He was afraid, Vegeta said, but Radditz had his doubts. It didn't matter though. He wouldn't argue further with his Prince.

The pod touched down at the base and Radditz exited, the still-sleeping Gohan under his arm. He entered a sort of antechamber and the door hissed shut behind him. The soldiers were waiting outside, ready to attack if he wasn't who he looked like. A panel to the left told him that the computer 'thought' there was only one life-form in the room; the boy's chi wasn't even high enough to register. Radditz frowned. He knew better, but Vegeta didn't. If the kid didn't perk up, he'd be facing a rather perturbed prince.

The chamber door slid open, revealing a narrow hallway. Doors lined the sides: barracks. The soldiers slept here; the more important you were, the closer to the center of the base you lived. Vegeta's room was directly in the center with Nappa's and Radditz's flanking it. He made his way in that direction.

His room consisted of a bed and a desk. On the desk was a small rectangular shaped box. Radditz set Gohan down on the bed and plugged his scouter into the box by way of a short cable. Stats ran across his eyepiece; Vegeta had set out for another planet of Freeza's choosing with two new recruits. The two new ones would 'die' on this mission and come to live at Labyrinth. Radditz frowned again. He needed to report to Freeza before the lizard got suspicious. He himself had been out on a very simple purging mission for the tyrant and finished it quickly. Then he'd gone on that fateful recon mission for Vegeta. That had **not** ended well. He foresaw trouble convincing the Prince of the child's power. He himself had no idea what had happened on Earth: much as he hated to admit it, he should have died there. He shrugged and unplugged the scouter. He had survived and ultimately, that was all the mattered. Radditz stepped out of the utilitarian room and hailed a passing recruit, who regarded him with near reverence. 

"You're in charge of the kid in there." He jabbed a thumb at the closed door. "Let him explore if he gets curious, but watch him at all times. He's very important."

"Sir!" The recruit saluted. Radditz made his way to the liftoff/landing sites and got in a pod. All were identical, having been stolen from Freeza. He set the coordinates for said tyrant's base and took off.

*****

"What could make it malfunction like this?" Bulma wondered aloud. She was starting to get worried. She had the utmost confidence in her capabilities, but the thing just wasn't working. And if it didn't work, they wouldn't find the dragon balls. And if they didn't find the dragon balls, she couldn't wish Yamcha back. Yamcha…the thought of him made Bulma attack her work with renewed fervor. He'd been a desert bandit for some years- what if that kept him out of Heaven? No, she wanted him back on Earth no matter what. She doubted she'd ever love anyone else. Would that make her a widow? She might as well enter a convent. Bulma shuddered and continued, only to be interrupted by the gentle hum of an aircar settling on her front lawn. She set aside the radar to see who it was.

"Kami sent me to tell you and the gang to come up to his tower." Yajirobe said, not bothering to get out.

"Again? Why?" He shrugged. 

"I'm just the messenger." And the aircar took off. Bulma went back inside and picked up the phone, wondering why she'd been invited to this particular meeting.

*****

Kami watched the small group approach his tower yet again. His news this time was no better than it had been mere hours ago, but it was much more important.

The air car Bulma was piloting landed and what was left of the Z senshi climbed out. Krillin could tell by the look on Kami's face that the news was not good. He wondered if a few of the planets had collided. 

"I spoke to Goku." Nobody was expecting _that_. "He has been watching Earth from the other realm- which means he can see things that we don't." Kami's face twisted oddly. "He saw…" He was speaking slowly now, as though every word was a wrench. "He saw one of the dragon balls get destroyed." The guardian held up one long-nailed hand against everyone's exclamations. "Goku also has spoken to the North Kai, one of the leaders of the other world. The North Kai was watching with Goku when it happened. Now, the dragon balls have a mystical energy that your radar locks on to, Bulma. This power is very great; each ball contains one seventh of the Eternal Dragon's power. Thus, it cannot be destroyed. It can, however, be transferred."

***

the end. Of this part at least. Toodles till next time

~ Mystic G


	10. Orphaned Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Disclaimer- I don't own dragon ball/z/gt. Not at all, nope nope nope.

Note- things in are in another language.

Recap: Last chapter (a million and a half years ago) Gohan was taken to Labyrinth 1, the base of Vegeta's secret anti-Freiza forces and placed under the guard of a soldier while Radditz went off and reported to the lizard. Kami told Bulma, Krillin, and Tien that he had spoken to Goku and that a Dragon Ball had been destroyed and the power from the ball had been transferred to something…or someone… who could act in the place of the Dragon Ball.

*****

            Bulma, Krillin, and Tien all stared at Kami for a moment, not quite sure of the implications of his last statement. It was then that Krillin noticed that Piccolo was not present. Tien understood first.

            "Radditz!" He burst. "That's why he could keep fighting after all that damage,"

            "Yes. You are fortunate that he is unaware of what happened, because if he learned to control that power, no force in the universe could stop him." Kami said.

            "Wait, how do we wish Goku and Yamcha back!?" Bulma wailed. "The dragon won't come to only six balls!" Kami looked gravely at her.

            "The balls are merely a symbol; something for people to grasp. It is the energy that matters. But you are correct. If even a seventh of that energy is missing, Shenlong will not respond."

            "Hold on a minute," Krillin's brow was creased in concentration. "If the balls were just carriers of the energy, and it was transferred, then if we got the new vessel…"

            "How in the world do we do _that_?" Bulma demanded, but Kami looked thoughtful.

            "I think we can do it. No, I think we _must_. Let me see the dragon radar." Bulma gave the guardian a startled look and pulled the broken gadget out of her pouch. "What is the range on this?"

            "It covers all of Earth," She stated. "But it's broken." Kami peered at it closely.

            "I can fix this for you." He said simply, then turned and retreated into the sanctuary. Bulma stared after him incredulously. 

            "No way. I used everything I know on that thing. He won't be able to fix it." But the guardian walked out a minute later, the glowing radar in his hands. "How…"

            "I work in mysterious ways, child. Now go. You've got a world to save." Bulma nodded mutely. She and the two warriors got back into the air car, and Mr. Popo watched with Kami as they vanished.

            "How _did_ you do it?" Mr. Popo asked.

            "Simple. I changed the batteries."

*****

            Gohan woke up about half an hour after Radditz left. He was startled at first by his surroundings, but quickly discerned that they contained no hidden threat. He climbed off the bed and walked over to the desk. The surface of it was just a bit too high for him to reach, and there was no chair. Odd…he looked around for something to stand on, but the only other piece of furniture in the room was, of course, the bed. Gohan really didn't think he'd be able to move it across the room. There was a blanket on the bed, though, and he _could_ move that. He yanked it off the bed, folded it into a nice thick wad and placed it by the edge of the desk. When he stepped on it, however, it squished beneath his weight and wasn't stable at all. Gohan went back to the bed to retrieve the pillow. After he added it to the blanket wad, the squishy tower gave him just enough height to grope around the surface. His hand felt something solid and he grabbed, just as the pillow fell off the blanket and he landed on the floor. The box in his hands was plain and black. There was no writing on it and it didn't open. There was a small hole in the side, but Gohan couldn't see anything through it. He shook it but nothing rattled. Bored, he set it on the floor, thinking it must be some sort of decoration. 

Going over to the door, he had to crane his neck somewhat to see to the top of it. There was no doorknob. He had no idea how to get out of the room. He wasn't even sure what he was going to do once out, but being in the room was too much like trapped, and he really wanted to believe the best about his uncle. So, not seeing anything else to do about it, he knocked on the door. It slid open. 

Gohan walked right past the startled soldier-turned-babysitter and wandered off down the hall. The soldier remained a considerable distance behind him, but kept a close eye on his charge. Gohan walked wide-eyed down hallway after corridor after passage until he felt quite befuddled. Just as he was thinking it would be impossible to reach the relative safety of Radditz's room, he found himself right outside the door. Looking around, confused, Gohan found he had gone full circle- with a few detours, of course. He was wondering how to open the door again when his shadow caught up. The soldier knelt so that he was the same height as the child and said:

"Did you need something?" After all, Radditz had said that the child was very important.

"I'm…a little confused." Gohan admitted.

"I can try to answer your questions," The guard offered kindly.

"Who are you?" The least important question of the million he wanted to ask popped out first.

"I am Kako," He replied. "Radditz assigned me to watch over you." Gohan looked closer at Kako. He guessed that up against his uncle, Kako would be about shoulder height. At first glance, his skin looked white, but looking closer, Gohan discovered it had a faint reddish cast to it. The really startling thing, however, were his eyes. They were slightly angular and had no pupils. Instead, they were a solid red. Seeing Gohan's silent appraisal, Kako smiled slightly, revealing fangs. Gohan smiled back, somehow managing to make even this gesture of friendship look rather grave. Gohan continued to ask questions.

"Why am I here? And where is here?"

"This is Labyrinth I. It's a resistance base. Prince Vegeta is gathering forces to oppose Freiza." Kako said the lizard's name with almost as much hatred as Radditz had. Gohan, remembering the story Radditz had told him, wondered how a force in a small base like this could take on Freiza when most of the Saiyan race had died trying. Then he realized he was being pessimistic and decided to stop. 

"Where's my uncle?" Gohan asked next. Kako looked at him confusedly. "Radditz," Gohan said by way of explanation. Kako's eyes got a little wide. 

"He went to Freiza to report. He, Nappa, and Prince Vegeta have to do that often so Freiza doesn't get suspicious."

"Do you know when he'll be back?"

"It shouldn't take too long. Freiza doesn't need them by his side every second of the day. My turn," Kako said. "Where did you come from? I had no idea Radditz had any family."

"I'm from…Earth," Gohan said, frowning. "My dad… I guess he was Radditz's brother, unless it was my mom who was his sister…anyway, they're both dead." His frown deepened. "I was in an orphanage…then Radditz came. He was destroying things." Gohan had almost forgotten about those people who had been his father's friends. He was very confused. Should he hate his uncle and be afraid of him? Or should he feel just fine in this situation and make the best of it? He remembered that he had given up being pessimistic, and decided to make the best of the situation. Kako saw the far-off look on his charge's face.

"Maybe you should get some rest; it's late." He suggested. The boy nodded, but looked doubtfully at the door. Kako had to cover a smile. The child wasn't heavy enough to trip the sensors that would open the door. "Jump up and down on it," He advised. The sight was a funny one. Finally, the door opened. Gohan, pleased, dashed inside before it could slide closed again. 

Kako readied himself for the night. Luckily, his kind-Seika, from the planet Seik-needed no sleep. In fact, if they slept at all they got extremely disoriented, so Kako was perfect for this job. He whiled away the long hours (Seika needed no sleep, but tended to get bored faster than most species) thinking about his new friend. It was hard to judge Gohan's age: on Seik, it was perpetually night. There were no 'days', and thus no 'months' and no 'years'. One could learn the stars and study the passage of time, but few, if any, undertook this weighty (and boring) task. If anyone had bothered to find out, however, they would have found that Seika do not socialize according to age group, but by maturity or interest. They would have found many centuries old beings talking quite seriously to newborns about philosophy and politics. So all that Kako knew was that Gohan was on pretty much the same level as he was, and that made them essentially the same age. He smiled softly to himself. He sensed a deep power in this boy. He would make an excellent training partner.

*****

"It's the latest model." Bulma explained proudly. "I helped my dad design it. It goes really fast."

"How fast?" Krillin asked, looking dubiously at the bean shaped space ship on the Capsule Corp. front lawn.

"Fast enough to get us out of the Solar System in a minute or so. That's about 99,000 miles per second, I believe."

"Is that fast enough? The universe is a pretty big place," Tien commented.

"Of course it's fast enough! I could even push warp speed if I absolutely had to, but I wouldn't recommend it. There's a reason it's called 'warp'."

"Great, so are we ready to go then?" Bulma rolled her eyes. 

"Noooooooooo." She said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I have to pack." Tien and Krillin groaned.

Several hours later, the three of them were ready to go.

*****

At the ends of the Earth…

            Kami looked upon the green, insect-like structure before him. It was the ship he had traveled to Earth in. His palm open at his side, Kami began charging a small globe of ki. Now, Earth's guardian rarely used his energy in such a way, so the ball was only just potent enough to destroy a large, green spaceship. Regretfully, he loosed the blast that would do away with the remnants of his life before Earth. But the ki never reached its intended target. It exploded instead on a large rock outcropping a few yards away from the ship. Kami peered through to see what had deflected the blast. 

            "Piccolo!"

            "What're you doing Kami?" Piccolo growled. "'Cause it looks to me like you're destroying my one chance of following those fools to space." He glanced over at the ship. The hatch was open. "If you're so eager to get rid of it, why don't I just take it off your hands?"

            "Why do you even want to find young Gohan, Piccolo?" The hatch closed. "He is the son of your enemy. You've saved his life once before. What are you trying to prove?"

            "I'm just looking for the dragon balls, old man. What so I care if Son Goku's kid lives or dies? But I have to ask, what are you up to, Kami-sama?" He used the term of respect mockingly. "I'll bet it's nothing a Guardian of Earth should be doing."

            "What do you know about being a Guardian?" Kami demanded, his face twisted in anguish. "I'm destroying this last piece of my past so that Earth can have a future! So that a group of children can't destroy the planet by bringing back the last of the Sons!"

            "Too late."

            "What?"

            "I said: it's too late. One of those 'children' has developed a ship fast enough to travel across galaxies in hours. They've already left." Piccolo was grinning. Kami was fighting the urge to sink to his knees in despair.

            "The Fates are against me," He murmured.

            "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now." Piccolo turned to enter the ship.

            "You won't even be able to get off the ground." Kami said softly. Piccolo looked at him sharply. "It's voice-activated. The ship responds to the Namekian language, and, though you are Namekian, you do not know it."

            "But you do."

            "I won't tell you. If you join with the others, there's a chance they may succeed. However, without you, there is no chance of them returning with the boy. All I have to do to save this planet is keep you on it."

            "Kami, I am an exact copy of you. Well, at least a close enough one that it isn't possible for us to keep secrets from each other."

            "Where are you going with this?" Kami asked nervously, backing away.

            "My point is…_this_ should work!" Piccolo leapt at Kami. One hand pushed the Guardian against a rock wall and the other pressed against his head. "Now, I've never tried this before, so let me know if it hurts." There was a bright flash. Kami drew a sharp breath, but the whole thing was over before he could scream.

            "It worked!" Piccolo was pleased. He hadn't been sure if it would. I can speak the language and command the ship! He said in flawless Namekian. Kami trembled and collapsed. An unfortunate side effect, but Piccolo didn't care one whit about his double. He needed to be off now if he was going to tail Bulma, Krillin, and Tien.

            As the stars raced by, Piccolo thought over his amazing good luck. After finding Goku dead, Piccolo had not gone out and conquered the world, as his father would have. It didn't seem right, somehow, and now he knew why. Kami had said the bringing the last Son to Earth would destroy it. Piccolo didn't want to destroy Earth, but he thought he might like to rule it now. He could train Son Gohan himself, then threaten Kami with the boy. If the old man wanted to believe the kid was going to destroy the world, that was up to him. _Now_ it felt right. Piccolo's father and Goku had been enemies. Now their sons would be allies. It had a certain irony that appealed to the demon prince, and he settled back in his chair content with a newfound sense of purpose.


	11. Orphaned Chapter 11

Orphaned Chapter 11

Tedious Disclaimer- if you don't know it by now, you should be whacked solidly in the face with a codfish.

Recap- Kami's trying to save the planet by killing all it's heroes, or at least keeping them off the planet. Piccolo wants to rule the planet, Gohan at his side. Veggie wants Freiza dead, then possibly wants to rules the universe with Gohan at his side. The motley crew- that is to say Bulma, Yamcha, Krillin…oh wait, didn't I kill off a few of them…hang on…right, it's Tien, Bulma and Krillin. Geez it's been a while. Anyway, Tien, Bulma, and Krillin want to bring a buncha people back to life, use Radditz as a stand-in dragonball, and return to Earth, Gohan at their side. Not too much to ask, right? Right.

*****

            They passed stars occasionally- really passed them, at close range. At these times, Tien wondered how people could write such romantic drivel about diamonds in the sky; more than once they came close to loosing some very important pieces of the ship to one of these burning monstrosities. He and Krillin trained constantly, while Bulma lounged in the pilot's seat reading magazines, checking the dragon radar every so often. All were tense about finding Radditz and none of them knew what they would do when they did. They had only the dragon radar to rely on as they hurtled through space- a tool that had been fixed by a guardian who had something other than old friends on his mind.

            "So Bulma," Said Krillin, with the air of one approaching a bomb that may or may not be a dud. "Where are we going, exactly?" Bulma pointed mutely to the blip on the radar. "Well, yeah, but how do we know where that is? Or how long it'll take us to get there? What if Radditz moves?"

            "What are you getting at?"

            "Just, if he moves out of range, we'll be out here without a compass."

            "And what do you want me to do about it?"

            "I…well…I don't know."

            "Right. Go away." She dove back into her magazine. Krillin backed away, looking grateful to have sustained no injuries but worried nonetheless. Bulma smirked at the models on the page. Little did Krillin know that she had installed a program similar to the dragon radar on the ship's computer that would serve as a backup in case the hand-held one broke. She hadn't had the chance to test it, but as always, she was quite confident it would work.

*****

            Piccolo had turned on a handy little cloaking device he'd found the Namek ship to be equipped with, but he still stayed a goodly distance away from the Earthlings ship in case they had sensors that could detect him. He followed them with ease, locking onto them with the ship itself (it was quite sophisticated for something so old) and with his sixth sense, which told him Krillin and Tien were frantically looking to become stronger before the confrontation with Radditz. Not a bad idea.

*****

            "This is a training simulation." Kako informed Gohan three days after Radditz had left. The two had become good friends over this short period of time and went everywhere together, partly, of course, because Radditz had charged him with the child's well being, but more out of a desire to be in each other's company.

            "What kind of simulation does it run?" Gohan asked curiously, looking at three soldiers using it to train.

            "Well, that depends on what level you set it to. Watch, these three are about to begin." The technician behind the glass spoke over a microphone that could be heard in the plain white room on the other side.

            "Ready?" The three soldiers gave the thumbs up. "Setting it to level five." He typed in some commands on the console in front of him and the room on the other side went dark. Then Gohan could plainly see different kinds of creatures attacking from all sides, using the new rocky terrain that hadn't been there a minute ago to enhance their attacks. Two of Prince Vegeta's soldiers used blasters to take care of them, but the third used his own ki. At first it seemed easy enough, but the enemies became tougher, dodging now and darting in for attacks of their own. One of the soldiers took a blow to the back of the head and stumbled forward.

            "It's very realistic, isn't it?" Gohan asked, just a little alarmed. Kako nodded.

            "You don't need to worry though. The training drones can't take life. They can beat you to within an inch of it, but they can't take it."

            "Oh. Well good." Gohan said, not feeling very reassured. He turned his attention back to the current simulation. The three were back to back to back now, surrounded by an overwhelming number of enemies, firing for all they were worth. A few enemies fell, but not enough to make a difference. The three were soon overwhelmed. The technician sighed an ended the program. The lights came back up, revealing three very beaten soldiers lying in the center of the room. A paramedic rushed in to take one of them and the other two struggled to their feet, muttering under their breaths.

            "They make the same mistake each time, always with that result." The technician said critically. "They've been working on this level for three weeks."

            "Would you like to try it Gohan?" Gohan looked up at Kako, startled.

            "I don't know anything about fighting." He said in a small voice. Kako was a little surprised at this shy statement. The kid was a Saiyen; he could smell it on him.

            "Sure you do. You were born knowing how to fight." At Gohan's uncertain look, Kako added. "I'll show you a few things, if you really think you need help."

            "Um…that's ok…you don't have to." Kako, reading between the lines, easily picked up the 'I don't want to' tone in the boy's voice. Curiouser and curiouser. 

            "Gohan, you must know why you've been brought here?" He said tentatively. Gohan looked at his feet. He had an inkling, Kako knew, but probably didn't want to admit it to himself. A pacifist Saiyen? Well why not.

            "I just don't like fighting all that much."

            "Why not?" That was blunt enough. Gohan looked directly into Kako's pupil-less eyes, ready with a perfectly innocent 'because it's wrong', but then rethought. Was fighting always wrong? What about cause? Self-defense was certainly a good cause to fight, was it not?

            "I don't know. That's a good question." Gohan said thoughtfully. "I guess I was just taught that it's wrong." Kako nodded sagely, though he was really wondering what kind of backwards planet the boy had grown up on. Who in their right mind would presume themselves wise enough to designate 'right' and 'wrong'?

            "You just need to have a good experience with it that's all. Come on, we'll head down to the gym. You can watch some of the soldiers sparring, maybe pick up a few things. I get the feeling the Prince expects you to know a few things about combat when he arrives." This last was said in passing, but Gohan felt a sudden knot in his stomach. He wanted to impress this Prince and make his uncle proud. Pressure.

*****

                They had been following Radditz for two days when he suddenly shifted course.

            "My God, his ship is fast." Bulma commented as she adjusted the controls to follow him again. "The technology his people must have…" She was nearly drooling.

            "How long until we can catch up with him then?" Tien asked.

            "That depends on if he stops. At the rate he's traveling, we could never hope to catch him." She twiddled the manual controls to avoid a star. "Especially since he knows where he's going and we don't."

            "Well how does that make a difference?" Bulma rolled her eyes.

            "_His_ course is already plotted, so his path is probably clear. We, however, have no idea what's out there between him and us. It could be anything."

            "Like a planet?"

            "Sure. Or an asteroid belt or even a black hole."

            "Or a planet."

            "Yes, yes, or a planet. Will you drop the planet already?"

            "Sure. Just as soon as you get us past it."

            "WHAT? Where'd THAT come from??" For those of you who hadn't picked up on this, there was a planet smack in front of them. A very, very large one. Bulma grabbed the manual controls again and steered hard to the side, fingers furiously punching the keyboard at the same time. "Damn it! There's something wrong with the sensors! They should have picked up a body that large! Ok, fine, we're almost past it, just-oof!" The ship lurched sickeningly and all the monitors went blank. There were no windows in the ship. They were flying blind, without the flying part. All within could plainly feel the ship descending rapidly. Bulma pulled herself up from the floor and began trying to start up the ship's computers again. When it didn't work, she rounded on the two fighters, who were watching her, dumbfounded. "What are you waiting for? Grab a pair of suits and get out there!" They obeyed instantly, and as she strapped herself to the chair, opened the door and hopped without hesitation into space.

            They were heading at a rather unhealthy speed toward the surface of the planet. Krillin and Tien, acting as one, threw their weight against the ship, attempting to fly it back on course. The planet's atmosphere, however, was wearing away at their space suits, and they weren't making any progress.

            "Tien, this isn't working. We have to go back in or we'll be fried!" Krillin shouted through the radio. Tien nodded his agreement, and the two left off their useless struggle, caught the door handle as it whizzed by, and flung themselves into the ship. Bulma was still pulling frantically at the controls. 

            "It's no good." Tien told her. "We're going to crash." The look in Bulma's eyes told them she had already realized this. She nodded.

            "Brace yourselves." Her tone was grave. Krillin and Tien stripped off the damaged space suits and took the two other seats, strapping themselves in carefully. "I've estimated the time until contact." Bulma continued in that same deadly voice. The ship shuddered around them and creaked alarmingly. "I can't access the landing gear. All of the computers are jammed." She took a deep breath. "You guys will probably live through this. The ship has an indestructible black box that contains all of its information. Repair it and continue the search. If you can, wish me back." Krillin started to protest, but Tien simply said

            "We will." Bulma nodded gratefully and gripped the armrests.

            "Five…four…three…two…one."


	12. Orphaned Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve, I believe.  
  
Disclaimer- I really don't think anyone cares whether or not I'm pretending to be Akira Toriyama and own them all.so I think I will.. Mwa ha ha ha!  
  
Recap- Bulma, Tien, and Krillin were about to crash on a great big planet. Piccolo is following them. Gohan is at Labyrinth, Prince Vegeta's base. Radditz has gone to report to Freiza, Vegeta is coming back from a mission for Freiza. This installation is mostly setup and exposition, which is always necessary before the real plot begins. Oh, yeah, I have not yet begun. We're getting to the core here, people.  
  
**  
  
"Shit." Piccolo watched the Earth ship crash through a certain planet's atmosphere. What was he going to do now? It was possible the Earthlings had found Radditz here, though from the way they were careening out of control, Piccolo guessed not. He quickly disabled the 'lock on' function and switched to manual, easily avoiding the planet. Now he had time to think. Not that he needed it. He needed a dragon radar to find Radditz and Gohan. Making a split decision, Piccolo decided to follow the Earthlings- but discreetly. Far from them- practically on the other side of the planet- he began a landing that, while by no means comfortable, was much smoother than theirs.  
  
**  
  
Prince Vegeta was going home. Back to base, that is. He, Nappa (whom Vegeta was rarely without), and two new recruits in stolen alien technology pilfered from the last world they'd purged flew through space in a neat flock. They were through for the time being with the lizard and were nearing Labyrinth when the scanners on both their pods went off.  
"Unidentified craft." Nappa's voice crackled over the radio in Vegeta's pod. On the screen next to the speaker was a code transmitted from Nappa. Freiza could monitor the radios, so nothing was ever said about Labyrinth or the resistance when they were using Freiza's ships. The overgrown reptile might catch this message, but he wouldn't be able to read it. The message was simple enough, advising Vegeta of the obvious: A ship this close to the base that they didn't recognize could be a scout. Whether or not it was Freiza's did not matter. If someone discovered Labyrinth, word could get out. It would be disastrous. Vegeta pondered. He could easily send Nappa after it, or he could go himself. He sent a terse message back to Nappa's pod. I am going to check it out. Continue as usual. He fell in line behind the other ship, making sure to cloak, and unaware that he was not the only one following that ship.  
Nappa reached Labyrinth ten minutes later and headed straight to his bunk after handing the two new ones off to the trainers. Checking the wireless box the three Saiyens all had, he discovered that Radditz was away reporting to Freiza. Nappa stretched his massive bulk out on the cot, hoping he'd be back soon. He had been on a mission to collect another Saiyen- exciting news even if it was just a low level. Maybe if Radditz wasn't back when he woke up, Nappa would fish around the base himself for some information, or possibly he'd run across this new Saiyen himself.  
Gohan and Kako were in the gym, watching the other soldiers work out and spar. The boy had been watching long enough Kako decided. He needed training. Just as he decided this, an out-of-breath soldier sprinted into the gym.  
"Everyone!" He called. "Nappa has returned!" The Prince was the only one who used a title. The other Saiyens seemed to feel it presumptuous- and wholly unnecessary- to take titles of their own. Their very auras spoke of power, so a title was redundant. Prince Vegeta's power, however, was so great that a title was needed to convey all possible respect. Besides, not a few soldiers felt that if his name was uttered they might drop dead where they stood, struck down by some heavenly lightening. And a leader needed a title.  
There was an excited buzz around the gym, but people went back to their training rather quickly. The soldier, when questioned, revealed that the Prince had not returned with Nappa as was expected. None of the soldiers would presume to guess where he was, but they imagined it might be some spectacular mission to further their cause.  
"Hear that Gohan? Where Nappa comes, the Prince soon follows. We had better begin, don't you think?" Kako said tentatively, trying to gauge the boy's reaction. Gohan's chin stuck out in an uncharacteristic pout and he had his arms folded across his chest. However, despite this negative posture, he nodded his head and led the way onto a free mat.  
Kako quickly discovered that Gohan had had absolutely no training, formal or otherwise. Sighing, he began with the most basic blocks and punches. It seemed like it would be quite a while before Gohan came into the power Kako sensed about him. But the Seika was in for a pleasant surprise. He found Gohan to be a quick study, displaying the proficiency for fighting that the Saiyen race had been legendary for and an intelligence that had sometimes been lacking in that dead species. The time passed quickly. Soon Gohan was shining with sweat. Kako felt perfectly comfortable and energetic, but he realized Gohan was unused to this sort of exertion and called it a day. So began the only demi-Saiyen's training.  
The next day, Kako decided to test his young friends retentiveness.  
"I am going to simply stand. You attack me, using what you learned yesterday." He explained. Gohan's thoughtful frown deepened.  
"I don't want to attack you." He said very, very quietly. Kako smiled in disbelief at the boy's gentleness. He must get over that, else the Prince or his uncle would beat it out of him.  
"Don't worry. You can't hurt me. Now." He assumed the ready position. Gohan, with a final, unsure glance at him, also settled into the position Kako had shown him yesterday. His teacher was pleased to note that Gohan accomplished it with grace and ease. He didn't even have to correct his footing.  
Gohan's first attacks, were, of course, predictable and easy to block. There wasn't much heart behind them, but that was okay. Heart would come later. Eventually, Gohan had preformed every attack Kako had taught him perfectly, though he never landed a hit. Kako motioned for him to stop, and he did, with obvious relief.  
"Now for blocking. You remember what I told you yesterday?" Gohan nodded silently. "All right. I will attack- not seriously, of course. I suggest you block, though." Kako started off slowly, but as Gohan demonstrated that his blocks were as perfect as his strikes, Kako sped up. There were obvious gaps in Gohan's defense, but that was to be expected and not to be taken advantage of. For all he had learned, Gohan was an expert. Kako felt a flush of pride. Now at least the kid wouldn't be a complete embarrassment to his uncle.  
  
**  
  
"My Lord Freiza." Zarbon knelt before the embodiment of nastiness and ick.  
"Zarbon. I have a tracking mission for you. It seems his royal highness has separated from Nappa again. This time I want to know why. If you come back to me and tell me you lost him like last time, I will feed you to my army." Freiza said, tail lashing irritably. Zarbon swallowed hard. Normally Nappa and Vegeta were inseparable. Last time they had gone apart, Freiza had been only mildly curious, sending Zarbon out on an idle whim to follow Vegeta. The monkey, however, had led Zarbon right into an asteroid belt, leaving Zarbon's ship badly damaged and escaping unscathed in his smaller pod. Zarbon was convinced Vegeta had done this just to spite him, that there was no ulterior motive, or secret. Monkeys were not smart enough for that kind of thinking, and he had told Freiza as much. But now his lord was suspicious, and if he was not satisfied heads would roll. Lovely, green plaited heads.  
"Of course, my lord." Zarbon excused himself and quickly discovered the coordinates of Vegeta's last transmission and before long joined the train of ships following the Earthlings through space.  
  
**  
  
Vegeta had about the same sentiments Piccolo did when he saw the ship he was tailing begin to crash on a large, green planet. He considered letting whoever it was go at that, but then his radar bleeped again. Another ship had just uncloaked on the other side of the planet, and it was landing deliberately. If that ship intended to help the first one, they might still be a danger to Vegeta's plans. He also began to land. Zarbon followed. On the planet itself, a peaceful race of people looked up to the sky as shadows passed through the light of the three suns. Shrugging- they couldn't make out the shapes of ships in the glare- they returned to their work and play, unaware of the descending danger. By the time events played out, however, everyone in the universe would know of the tragedy of the planet Namek. 


End file.
